


They're In Love

by catemonsterq, craftingkatie



Series: Everybody Knows They're in Love [2]
Category: Boondock Saints (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Multi, Semi-Public Sex, Threesome - F/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-20 18:27:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17627384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catemonsterq/pseuds/catemonsterq, https://archiveofourown.org/users/craftingkatie/pseuds/craftingkatie
Summary: Everybody knows that you can't have a relationship with two men at once, especially when they won't discuss that relationship with you. It's just that being with Connor and Murphy is the best thing that's happened to her.





	1. There's a far-off feeling, I can't shake it

**Author's Note:**

> A sequel fic to Everybody Knows. Chapter titles taken from I'm With Her's "See You Around"

“You did WHAT?” Molly’s shriek was loud enough to turn every head in the lobby towards the table of women. Marissa ducked her head into her salad, praying her blush wasn’t a beacon to the onlookers. Molly had the good grace to look around chagrined before continuing at a moderated volume. “Girl, you got some from a hot Irish fella! That’s one way to forget Derek.”

“Here, here!” Heather raised her glass in salute with a knowing look to Marissa.

“Shit. I’m running late already.” Molly spoke around the last bite of her sandwich. “I’ve gotta finish everything early today. Tom is taking me to a movie.” Heather and Marissa both awwwed at her admission. “Oh hush,” Molly said as she stood. “Riss, I can’t believe you didn’t open with that. For shame! You’re on probation, missy.” She raised two fingers to her eyes and pointed them at Marissa before backing away from the table with her trash.

A beat of silence followed as the two watched Molly disappear into the elevator banks. “You left out pertinent details- a second Irish fella for instance. Details, now.”

Marissa could feel guilt twisting in her gut. It wasn’t quite shame that had kept her from confessing to Molly that her weekend rendezvous had been with two men; if she examined the feeling closely, it felt more like guarded jealousy. The more people she told about her time with Connor and Murphy, the less special it would seem. She wanted to hold on to the glow of a secret well kept.

...Except, Heather already knew the truth.

“I didn’t want the potential judgment.” Marissa finally confessed; a half-truth but hopefully one that Heather would accept at face value.

Heather raised a pointed eyebrow. “You think that the woman who has ‘auditioned’ almost every male in her department would judge you finally letting your freak flag fly? Doubtful.” Marissa’s mature response was to shove a large bite of salad into her mouth and chew pointedly. “Well, you know I’m not the judging type, so have mercy and give me something.”

“It was everything I needed, more than I could have wanted, and they’ve agreed to a next time,” Marissa whispered across the table. That would have to be enough for Heather. They were in the lobby of their work; they couldn’t afford to be too indiscreet, after all.

Heather let out a long, slow breath as she considered what she had just learned. “Damn, girl. Get you some.”

“That’s the plan.” Marissa’s grin was sly, and a bit proud. “I thoroughly enjoy them. I’m looking forward to the next time if I’m being honest.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. You deserve a bit of happy.” Heather considered her next move carefully. Her friend wasn’t innocent, but she could easily be hurt by the machinations of these two men. She needed to walk the thin line between concern and condemnation. “Do you think this will be a regular thing?” she asked, careful to keep all judgment out of her voice. Marissa shrugged her reply so Heather continued with, “I just can’t imagine anything long term with two men would be easy to navigate.”

Marissa felt her shoulders tense. “Well, it’s nothing serious at the moment. We never even confirmed when we would see each other again, just that we were all interested.” She had thought Heather would be more encouraging than this. Wasn’t it just Friday both Molly and Heather had recommended getting back in the scene to get over Derek? Maybe she should be more selective about what she confided in Heather from now on.

Heather stirred her soup around with a concerned frown, “Just be careful, okay? You’ve had enough heartbreak this year already.”

* * *

Her lunch hour had felt like an interrogation. Going back to work felt like a relief, and there was something so wrong about that. Hope seemed glad to see her as Marissa stowed her purse away under her desk.

“Three meetings ran long and Grady is pissed about it. And paychecks were delayed until Wednesday by a system posting error so the contractors keep calling in for Payroll. They aren’t very happy people.” Hope skimmed over the notes she’d taken while Marissa had been at lunch.

“Great. Let me guess- Patty refuses to answer and has told us to say it will be resolved soon?” Marissa logged into her computer and grabbed her headset, ready to face the rest of the workday.

“Right in one. Good luck!” With that, Hope left for her own lunch break.

A few minutes passed and she heard the chirp from her phone signifying a text message.

_Hey there, lass, it’s Murphy._

Marissa was glad to be alone at the desk, she couldn’t help but grin madly when she saw who had texted her. Before she had a chance to reply, another message came through.

_I can’t stop thinking about your lovely mouth_

Heat flooded Marissa’s body as she thought about all of the ways she’d used her mouth on Murphy a few nights ago. It had already shaped up to be a long day; with these memories dancing in her head, it would seem even longer. 

* * *

Thursday dawned too bright and too early for Marissa. The week had already been too long by half and she hadn’t heard from either of the twins since Murphy’s hot text on Monday. It had taken everything in her to not reach out to them in desperation. She could play it cool- even if it was leaving her with a serious case of the grumps. Not for the first time, she wished her company allowed for business casual attire. The skirt and blazer she had laid out the night before seemed far too restricting for her doldrums.

Determined to get the fuck over her own mood, she stopped for a donut and coffee from the artisan place that had just opened down the block from her apartment building. It was in the opposite direction of work, but if she had to put up with work today, she needed sugary baked goods to do so. Generosity had her also grabbing a treat for Hope and Ian, who stood as her fellow soldiers in the reception trench. Ian, poor dear, had to work alone on the floor with the C-Suites and he deserved a treat for making the coffee every time one of the bosses bellowed for it.

He was retiring early the next year and had already put a bird in both Hope and her ear’s that the bosses were looking at them as replacement choices. Marissa had gotten a thrill at the thought when he first mentioned it. But once the shiny dollar signs had worn from her eyes, she remembered how demanding the position would be. Reception was already a thankless position; executive reception even more so with this company. Was this really how she wanted to spend her life?

She really was feeling down if she was spending the walk to work contemplating her career. It’d be a lie to consider that the lack of contact from the twins had made her more moody than usual. Marissa had begun to wonder if they weren’t perhaps _ghosting_ her; a term her cousin had taught her last Christmas during a fraught game of Bananagrams.

In any case, playing it cool and not texting them for validation was an exercise in self-control. She could be footloose... fancy-free....lonely.

Marissa pulled out her phone and headphones with the hope that loud music would lift her spirits. As she scrolled through her curated playlists- was this more of a _Pop in the Rain_ day or should she go with _90s Frat BBQ_?- she ignored the buzz of an incoming notification. Her new sudoku app had this constant need to remind her she was slower than all of her friends in solving its endless puzzles. Music over math seemed to be the best move for the rest of her commute.

When she had settled her feet into the rhythm of the music pumping through her headphones, Marissa pulled down the notifications to clear away the annoying reminder. The quick swipe brought a flutter of excitement. Her notification came from a new message, not the annoying sudoku app.

_Want to meet us at Romeo’s tomorrow night, Darlin’?_

Murphy texted in complete sentences and with punctuation. It was endearing. Marissa did not have to think twice about answering in the affirmative. She’d been aching for their touch all week, waking up after extremely detailed dreams of their ministrations.

_I’ll be there. What time?_

_How’s 8? And lass, wear a skirt._

_You got it. ;)_

She most definitely was not grinning over the exchange as she entered the elevator in her building. Definitely not.

* * *

Friday, she woke up smiling for the first time in a long time. She pushed the boundaries of acceptability with a bright yellow blazer and red flats. HR tended to frown on anything that wasn’t neutrally colored, but her choices fell perfectly within the realm of what the handbook deemed acceptable. Marissa got to wear colors that made her happy and make her stuffy bosses the tiniest bit uncomfortable at the same time. Happy Friday!

Hope had called out sick; she had sounded like a frog learning to croak by the end of business the day before so it hadn’t been a huge surprise. However, because of Hope’s absence, she needed to wait for Ian to come down and relieve her before she could head off to lunch. It meant she only had a skant 10 minutes of time with Heather and Molly before the other women had to head back to their work.

Marissa had decided to brag a bit about seeing her handsome ‘Irish fella’ again, if only because she hadn’t been able to brag about much of anything in the past year. Luckily, her chance came as she joined their table.

“Tom’s invited me out again this weekend. Like a date.” Molly was mid-announcement when Marissa sat down.

Marissa could not resist a bit of teasing. “Aw, does this mean you’re officially going steady?”

“You. You have no room to talk, Riss,” Molly pointed dramatically. “You’ll just have to come with us, I guess.”

“Wait, why?” Marissa looked to Heather to see if she had missed anything before her arrival.

“Going out once does not mean you’re back in the dating pool. You can’t just say you’re done and not go out this weekend as well.” Molly’s pout was pronounced.

For the love of all things... “Molly, I have a date- with that Irish fella from last Friday.”

“Oh? Are you going back to that same bar?” Molly asked as she closed up her lunch container. “Tom and I were talking about going back there. He really loves that place for some reason. Maybe we could meet you?”

Heather didn’t miss a beat. She reached out and smacked Molly on the arm. “Dude. You promised me you’d come to see Pete DJ at the Balderdash tonight!” Marissa mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ to Heather as Molly bent to shove her container into her purse.

“He was really great,” Molly commented. “Riss, maybe you and your guy can meet us later on?”

Marissa breathed a small sigh of relief, “Yeah, maybe so.” She had no intention of meeting up with the three of them later. She had other plans for her night. 

* * *

When quitting time came on Friday afternoon, Marissa nearly skipped out of the building in excitement. Just over two hours stood between her and the promised seduction tonight. Her day had passed quickly with her mind on what she would wear and what ...activities... they would get up to together.

She shed work from her shoulders, blazer and purse laid over her couch as she walked into the kitchen. When she considered her options, a bowl of cereal seemed like the best option to start her night. A clearer head might bring her a bit more pleasure this time around and eating beforehand would help her in the end. It was also a meal she could eat in the bathroom while getting ready.

Channeling her college days, she shoveled spoonfuls of cereal up as she shaved, using the toilet lid as a prop for her foot. A quick shower had her smelling of lemons and her legs glistening after shaving cream washed away. She grabbed a glass of water to sip on as she contemplated her closet.

Marissa knew if she paired her lacy- and too damn expensive- push up bra with her red wrap top, her cleavage would be on impressive display. After trying a few other shirts on over the bra, she confirmed her initial decision, turning this way and that to verify it did still look as sexy as the day she bought it. The skirt to pair with the top flummoxed her. Murphy and Connor would certainly appreciate a short and tight number. However, she only had two options that fit that label and neither one made her feel comfortable in public. They had been sexy Halloween costume pieces, not anything she would bravely wear out in public without the coverage of a cape or mask. She wavered between a lace midi number and a flowing boho maxi skirt.

Both options were hooked over her bathroom door to consider from afar as she set about tidying the near destruction she had wrought, pulling multiple hangers from her closet to try on. This led to remaking the bed and fluffing the pillows and a quick tour through the tiny living room to make sure there weren’t any embarrassing items out on display. She rinsed a few dishes and stacked them neatly to one side of the sink then checked the time.

With just over 15 minutes left before she had to leave, Marissa grabbed the boho skirt and pulled it on before rushing through a quick dusting of makeup. One last look in the mirror had her grinning wide. She looked damn good.


	2. I Feel You Baby

Romeo’s bar sat at the very tip of what Marissa considered a walkable distance. It was nice outside, though, and she had a flutter of nerves and anticipation to carry her through the long walk. The press of bodies was a comfort; the more she focused on avoiding collisions with jackwagons more concerned with their phones than their surroundings, the less she could focus on the echo of her mother in the back of her head. It became all too easy to hear her mother ranting about propriety and morality if she allowed her thoughts to travel that way. Fuck that noise, she was out to have fun, dammit. 

About three blocks from the bar, she felt a body walk up close behind her and moderate their pace to match hers. Tension filled her and she gripped her bag, ready to turn and confront some overfamiliar creep before she heard the familiar Irish lilt, “Fancy seeing you here, sweetheart.” Connor took advantage in a break of pedestrians to come up beside her and slip an arm around her waist, his other hand lightly holding a cigarette. 

Now that she was listening for it, she heard Murphy’s footsteps quicken as he approached her and took his place on her other side. “Hey there, lovely,” he said with a grin when he’d fallen into step with them. Without pause, the flow of people separated around them with nary a glare in their direction. What sort of black magic did they possess? 

Her shoulders brushed against theirs as they made their way to the bar. It surprised her to note that most all of her nerves had calmed upon their arrival. She imagined her insides having been running around in a flurry of activity, only to sense them near and remember the delight of being their sole focus. It did bring a quick grin to her lips. As they crossed an intersection, Murphy took a firm grip of her hand and Connor was slow to let his arm fall away from her waist. For a few brief seconds, she was connected to both men. Then Connor had stepped away to toss his butt in a handy receptacle and she was left with Murphy. 

When they were within a few hundred yards of the bar, Murphy started to exude a firmer pressure, pulling them to a slower pace than they had been taking. Connor skimmed past them and turned to shoot a glance at his brother with a question riding his face. “Go on ahead, Con. Marissa will keep me company while I grab a smoke.”

Connor shrugged with a grin and continued backing towards the door. “See you inside, sweetheart,” and then he turned away with a wink. Murphy led her back around the building to the back entrance Connor had pulled her through last Friday. Marissa leaned against the side of the stone ramp leading down into the alley as Murphy grabbed a cigarette from a packet in his back pocket. 

Marissa smiled as he took her in from head to foot. She flipped her skirt out and cocked a foot up against the concrete wall, like every Bad Boy 50s Male Model. Her smile turned to a satisfied smirk as his attention centered on her bared knee. 

“You know, love, when I said wear a skirt this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.” He used the cigarette to gesture at the offending garment. 

“It is a little longer than the last one, isn’t it?” She tried to remain cool in the face of his stare but broke into a smile after less than ten seconds. “This one has more freedom of movement.” There were giggles threatening at his glower, but they dried up when his own face broke out into a smile. He flicked his butt into a pile of sand apparently there for that purpose then stalked towards her. 

With nowhere to go, she was easily entrapped by his arms on either side of her. “Is that so, love?” he breathed. He was so close, his breath caressed her cheek. He trailed a firm hand from her bared knee, taking the bunched fabric with him as he went. He wound up with a handful of fabric and her ass, not that she was complaining. His mouth occupied every free thought, taking over her own as his other hand settled over the back of her neck. 

Murphy seemed content to a slow exploration, though a thorough one. She settled into it for a beat or two before wanting more. Marissa pushed back against the wall, leaning into him while tilting her head to deepen the kiss. Her movement seemed to spur Murphy to action. His palm flattened against her ass, loosing the bundled knot of fabric he had held. There was a sort of stuttered grasp as he slipped his hand beneath the volume of flowing material until his fingers found bare skin. He had finally managed to scoop the fabric away so that his hand rested firmly on the bottom of her bare thigh, her leg still propped up and spread wide. His jeans now rasped against her legs and the pleasant sensation had her swallowing back a hum of appreciation.

Just as soon as she started to press her hips forward into him, Murphy pulled away from her. She let her leg drop back down to the pavement and brushed a hand across her skirt to help it lay flat. By sheer strength of will, she resisted the urge to touch her lips and verify they were as swollen as they felt. Why had he stopped?

“Oh, good. You’ve come up for air.” Connor stood above their heads, looking down at them. She hadn’t even heard the door open. “We’ve a place at the bar saved.” 

Connor held the door open and Murphy took her hand again as he led the way into the back hallway. When she passed Connor, he took in her flushed skin and dilated pupils. With a huff of a laugh, he brought up the rear and let the door fall closed behind him. Murphy was up to some mischief; now to see where it led. 

They flanked her on the stools reserved with three whiskeys already waiting. She grabbed hers and took a sip, needing the slide of warmth. Connor faced her from the stool next to her. His hand brushed up her back and rested against her neck, his thumb coming to rest gently on her pulse point. 

“Fuck, Murphy. She’s near out of her skin now. I thought we agreed to go easy on her until we left for her place.” 

Murphy sucked air between his teeth. “Yeah, well that’s before she wore that skirt and smirked at me about its range of motion. You know we’d hoped she would wear a shorter number. I needed to make sure I could still get to her through all that fabric mess.”

“Fair point.” Connor let his hand fall and the lack of contact had her clenching the glass in both hands to keep from reaching out to one or both of them. “You had to have known this wasn’t what we meant when Murphy said to wear a skirt.” 

Marissa bit her lip before responding with a tentative smile. “You didn’t specify and I don’t have many skirts--” 

“Are you seriously trying to scare the girl away?” Romeo interrupted. “She looks like she’s about to run away, and here I thought you had finally found a girl who could stand your ugly mugs.”

“Ah, fuck off Rome.” Murphy protested. 

“I’m glad to see that they impressed you enough to get you back here again. Or was it my nachos?” Romeo was flirting with her. He very clearly looked her up and down and leaned forward. “It was me, wasn’t it? That’s a lovely shirt. Did you wear it for me? Say the word and I’ll make you nachos for life.” 

“That’s a very tempting offer, Romeo, but I hardly know you.” She could not stop the smile blooming across her face. Romeo’s ramblings had caused the twins to close ranks next to her. They were each touching her, posturing in that way men did when they thought they had to claim a woman. It was both frustrating and flattering.

“Ah, true. I’m not even sure I caught your name.” Romeo hung his head to hide his own smile.

“Marissa.” She supplied. “And I’ll be sticking with these two. You did say they were handsome devils; that was true enough.”

“Sorry, boys. I couldn’t resist offering her a chance to escape with me. How ‘bout some munchies?” When they all answered in the affirmative, he disappeared back into the workflow behind the bar with a promise to bring a platter of wings their way. 

“He’s bold as sin.” Marissa laughed when Connor and Murphy sat silent for a beat too long after Romeo walked away.

“Yeah. He is at that.” Connor agreed. He stood up abruptly and pointed out an empty booth off the far wall. Murphy went quickly to go claim it for them, carrying all three glasses in one hand. Marissa started to turn to follow after him, but Connor’s arms wrapped around her from behind and kept her on the stool. “You look a treat, darlin’. Like a present we get unwrap later.” His fingers toyed with the tie of her shirt. “If I were to pull this tiny string here, would your entire shirt come undone?” 

“Y-yes.” She near swallowed the word as he gently tugged the sides of her shirt, causing it to ride up, exposing a good two inches of skin. 

“Good to know for later. Now let’s have you saunter over to Murph and show the man how lovely this outfit truly is.” He helped her down from the stool and grabbed her hand as it automatically went to tug the shirt down. “Leave it, love. Trust me.” When he trailed the tip of a finger across her back she decided it was definitely the right move to leave it. 

Murphy had settled back into the booth, one arm thrown across the back. His gaze was hot upon her as she crossed the bar. She slid in beside him, avoiding hitting her foot against the chairs opposite the booth bench. 

“I deliver to you our present, brother. She’s all wrapped up for us.” Connor leaned forward and pointed out the tie. “If we pull that wee string, her shirt falls apart.”

“Very nice,” Murphy said, reaching out to toy with the strings, a gleam in his eye. 

“We’ve been asses complaining over her skirt and not taking in the whole of her outfit,” Connor prompted.

“Oh, aye. I hadn't noticed the handy tie here.” He tugged gently at the knot, not letting it come undone but definitely testing the strength of the tie. “D’ya know what I did notice, though?”

“What's that, brother?” Connor grinned as he grabbed up his glass of whiskey. 

“I noticed that Riss here complained we didn’t specify the type of skirt we wanted. We’ll need to practice being very specific with her in the future.” Murphy placed a hand on her leg, just above her knee.

Connor mirrored the movement, his hand giving her a gentle squeeze. “I think we can manage that. We may need to practice, though.” His grin shot a shiver, quick and dirty down her spine. They were squeezed in tight on the bench, legs touching from thigh to knee. 

Murphy slid his hand to hook under her knee as he leaned his head nearer to her. “Now, love, I’m going to need you to lift your leg up,” as he said this, he applied gentle pressure to lift her leg up and over his own. “Yes, just so. Don’t move until I say.”

As soon as her leg was settled across Murphy, Connor tightened his hand on her other knee.

“Murph mentioned something about the range of motion. I think it’s time we test it. Why don’t you hook your leg over mine just as you’ve done with Murphy and show me how far this lovely skirt can stretch?” Just as Murphy had done, he gently pulled until she lifted her leg over his leg. Whereas Murphy had whispered gently, Connor was speaking in a firm, commanding tone. “If you move your leg before I say to, there will be consequences, lass.”

Marissa tried to let the tension ease from her shoulders. Her legs were spread wide, held that way by their hands and her own desperate want. She could play this game. She was thankful for the length of her skirt; it almost hid everything.

There was barely time to settle into her new seating arrangement when Romeo approached with a basket of wings and a bottle of whiskey. She had never considered the term “knee jerk reaction” until she saw Romeo crossing towards them. Before she could even think about it, she went to jerk her legs closed and sit up straight. The two hands on her knees gripped tightly and held her in place. 

“Your bottle, gentlemen,” Romeo said as he delivered his goods. The bottle was near empty and the basket of wings steamed, fresh from the fryer. Marissa focused on the items in front of her in the hopes Romeo was not looking too closely. She fluffed the fabric of the skirt. In her mind, it would just look like her skirt had flowed out over the laps of the brothers. 

“Rome, you should probably go ahead and get another bottle ready,” Murphy said as he reached for the bottle to refill the glasses. “We’ll be through with this one before too long.”

Romeo’s tone was all exasperation with a tinge of laughter. “They’re always getting the exact same whiskey even though I have plenty of other booze. Better booze, even.”

“We buy bottles of whiskey at cost from Romeo and he keeps them behind the bar for us.” Connor picked up the whiskey bottle and held it up for Marissa to see the white label on the back reading MACMANUS. Marissa nodded but kept her jaw clamped shut. She could swear Romeo would notice at any moment now.

“It was easier than trying to figure out how much to charge them after they commandeer a bottle on their own,” Romeo laughed. “Same kind?” He asked, as though hoping they may change their mind. When both brothers nodded he turned and walked off. 

“Do you think,” Connor asked as he took a sip of his drink, “that Romeo could tell how wet Marissa is for us?” He carefully avoided looking directly at Marissa, managing instead to look over her and at Murphy’s face with a smirk. 

Murphy seemed to consider the question carefully before responding. “Almost certainly, Connor. With her legs spread like this, what else could he think?”

Marissa could feel her face flushing in embarrassment and she was fighting the urge to close her legs once again. Murphy must have noticed, his own grip on her knee tightened just enough to let her know he was paying attention. 

“You know, Connor, I think you were onto something when you brought up consequences. Marissa would not have stayed where we put her had our hands not been there.”  Murphy took a bite of a chicken wing and traced a finger lightly up the inside of Marissa’s thigh at the same time. 

“Guys,” she said, taking a breath and glancing between the two men, “You don’t have to talk about me like I’m not here.”

Connor let out a low chuckle, “Oh but, love, why would we stop when it turns you on so much?” His own hand was moving further up her thigh, the warm heat of his palm in stark contrast to Murphy’s light movements. The combination of hands and words was dizzying. 

“Murphy,” Connor continued, “What sort of consequences did you have in mind for our dear lass?” His hand was resting just outside her folds now, so close but not close enough.

Marissa looked to Murphy and nibbled on her lower lip, eagerly awaiting his answer. “What if,” he replied, fingers squeezing her leg gently, “we only let her come once tonight?” Marissa heard a low moan and startled when she realized it had come from her. 

Connor grinned and nodded, “Sounds perfect. What do you say, honey?” He leaned down to Marissa to whisper in her ear, “We’ll make it a really great orgasm for you, I promise.” He nibbled at her earlobe before moving away. 

“O-okay,” Marissa stammered. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to last for very long with as turned on as she already was, but she was willing to try anything if these two men would keep their hands on her. 

Her stammered acceptance was all Connor had needed to hear. He moved his hand over, cupping her and pressing down gently. Marissa tried to thrust her hips forward and press herself into Connor’s hand but found she had no range of motion in her current position. He moved his hand ever so slightly, giving Marissa just a little bit of the friction she was craving.

Marissa moaned again, not quite loud enough to be heard over the din of the bar. Murphy leaned in closer to her, “Be quiet, love, or we’ll have to stop.” Marissa nodded and bit her bottom lip. 

Connor’s hand rested over the top of her skirt pressing warmly against her folds as he casually ate. Marissa wasn’t sure how they were maintaining such a casual air. She was having trouble concentrating on eating the wing she had picked up. She was ready to throw in the towel when Connor’s hand began to move in earnest. He was pressing down harder, almost stroking up and down. Each movement brought him so close to where Marissa needed him to be. She was climbing higher and higher towards her peak, chewing at her lip and breathing hard through her nose to keep from making noise. Suddenly, just before she was sure she would come, Connor’s hand moved away and up towards his whiskey glass. “Eat,” he said softly. 

Marissa closed her eyes and took a deep breath before taking a bite of the wing she still held in her hand. Murphy tapped the inside of her knee, “Okay, lass. You can close your legs now.” Marissa quickly moved her legs and resisted the urge to grind her core down into the seat of the booth. 

Both of their hands had left her body and the sudden loss of touch was jarring. Marissa downed the last of her whiskey and reached for another chicken wing. “You guys are evil,” she muttered.

“Hey now,” Connor said as he refilled her glass. “You’re the one who tried to move after we told you not to.” 

Murphy moved his own glass within Connor’s reach and spoke softly, “It will be worth it, trust us.” Connor poured the remainder of the whiskey into his and Murphy’s glasses before setting the empty bottle aside. 

They continued eating, Connor and Murphy telling Marissa what little gossip they knew about the patrons at the bar. When they had finished the plate of wings, Connor fished a cigarette out of his pocket and grabbed the empty bottle of whiskey. “I’m done, are you?” Connor asked as he glanced to Murphy and Marissa. When they both agreed he stood up from the booth, “I’ll go let Romeo know we won’t be needing that other bottle tonight and settle up. Meet you out back?”

This time Marissa led the way through the back hallway. She tried to pretend she wasn’t walking on shaky legs- with a smile, she noted the long skirt might actually help hide that fact as well. Out into the cooler night air, Marissa took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“D’you mind?” Murphy held out his cigarette. Marissa shook her head with a laugh. No, she didn’t mind if he smoked. It would give her more time to bring her arousal down to a manageable level. She was shaken by how turned on she had been, spread wide in the middle of a busy bar. Being in public had never been a thing that had seemed sexy before. Yet, here she was with the slick between her thighs to prove how very much she had enjoyed it. 

Marissa lowered herself to sit upon the concrete ramp. It seemed mostly clean of things that may stain her clothes and it also seemed the best move she could make while her head swam. She jumped when the door opened behind her, even though she assumed correctly it was Connor. He walked past her to join Murphy at the bottom of the ramp. 

“We’ll try to be quick, darlin’,” Connor smirked up at her. 

Marissa smiled back, “Oh, take your time. You seem fond of that.”

“Brother, that was snarky. I feel insulted,” Connor turned to Murphy with mock hurt across his face. 

“To be fair, we did leave her wanting,” Murphy said. Marissa let out a laugh and buried her face in her upraised knees. 

“Aye, but did you see how much she enjoyed it?”

“I did, brother, and you know it,” Murphy grinned as he took a drag of his cigarette. “Eager she was to keep those legs spread after we told her to. Seems to me we’ve learned something new about our lovely Marissa.”

“You two are ridiculous,” she was muffled by the fabric but the brothers heard her fine. She kept her head down, listening to the two men talk as they smoked. The ground beneath her was warm and focusing on the feeling helped calm her heart rate. When they finally snubbed out their cigarettes, Marissa was ready for whatever they could dish out.

Connor approached her and she had to crane her neck up to see his face. “C’mon, lass. Let’s get you home.” He held out a hand for her to take. Connor used the momentum of pulling her up to wrap her in his arms. “We’ve been bastards. It’s a wonder you even put up with us.” The kiss he pressed to the top her head had her smiling into his shirt.

“Eh, we’ll make it up to her though. Plus how could she hate this face?” Murphy bragged. Marissa flicked him off behind Connor’s back and shook with laughter at Murphy’s self-righteous gasp of faux indignation. 

“Okay, okay. Let’s get going.” Marissa pulled back from Connor and took his hand. The brothers proceeded to clown around on the walk. She figured they were making sure she was fully set at ease and not ready to kick them to the curb for taking their arrangement a step further. 

At one point, Murphy pulled Marissa away from Connor. “But where are you taking us? I need to text someone in case you kidnap us away. There’s a market for men as handsome as us.”

“You going for a prize at being an ass?” Marissa asked. “We’re heading to Maple Ave. To the empty warehouse that I keep the bodies in, of course.”

“You really should think about a storage unit. It’s what all the criminal masterminds use these days. Easier to manage than a whole warehouse; cheaper rent as well.” Connor advised. 

“I’ll definitely keep it in mind.” Marissa allowed Murphy to wrap his arm around her as they walked. 

As they approached her building, the men began taking notice of the neighborhood. “Do you have a doorman?”

“Nah, it’s just a run of the mill building. No fancy doorman- but there is a Building Watch.”

“Did you put on new locks after moving in?” Murphy asked. 

“It’s my uncle’s condo. He put in a fresh deadbolt and a silly alarm system thing. It’s gotten me in trouble with the neighbors a few times, going off when I forgot the code, so I’ve stopped using it,” Marissa shrugged. They now stood at the front of her building, both men looking up. “C’mon. Don’t chicken out now- I’ve been promised a mind-blowing orgasm.” She pulled out her key and led the way through the door and into the lobby. Her apartment was only on the second floor but she chose to take the elevator up.

“It’s a two bedroom. Not super large but way bigger than I need by myself. I’m lucky my Uncle is so often out of the country for work. He bought the place then decided he couldn’t use it enough to make it worth maintaining. I’m his permanent house sitter.” She was babbling to fill the space as the elevator whirred up to her floor. Again, she led the way to her door and unlocked it. They still hadn’t said a word and she was starting to feel self- conscious. 

“So...” She gestured as the men followed her inside. “This is it. The living room/kitchen combo is here, and down the hall is the bathroom and two bedrooms.” Marissa stopped behind her couch to smooth her hands over the worn quilt resting over the back. Her mother had always been the hostess to beat; Marissa was sure she needed to be offering them drinks or something. 

Connor and Murphy brushed by her on their way down the hall. She followed after them belatedly gesturing towards the kitchen, “Did you want a drink or....?” Marissa trailed off as the two discovered her bedroom- the only one of the two that looked inhabited- and disappeared through the door. “Guys? I guess you’ve discovered my bedroom.” She leaned against the door jam. 

“You didn’t exaggerate.” Murphy whistled. “Your bed is far larger than ours are.” He approached her and eased her into an embrace, his head angling down to meet her lips as one hand slipped around her waist. His fingers quickly found the tie holding her shirt together but before he could tug too hard Connor spoke up. “Uh-uh, brother. Finders keepers.”

Murphy chuckled and lifted his head to look across the room at Connor, “But you’re all the way over here and all it would take is one,” he dramatically pulled on the tie. “Little,” one loop was getting smaller, “tug.”

Connor had crossed the room in two quick strides to smack Murphy’s hand away from Marissa’s side. “Don’t, Murph. You’re doing it all wrong anyway, cutting to the chase so quickly. This,” he said as he pushed his brother aside and tugged Marissa deeper into the room.  “Is a beautifully wrapped package, you can’t just go ripping off the wrapper all willy nilly!” Connor positioned himself behind her, both facing Murphy.

Murphy sat down on the bed to watch as Connor traced a hand up her side. He tipped his neck down and kissed at the pulse point on her neck, biting down when he felt her body shift into him. He placed a hand over each of her breasts, fingers quickly finding her nipples. Marissa let out a moan and rolled her head back against Connor’s shoulder. 

“That’s it,” Murphy said from the bed, “Let us hear you this time.” Marissa could have sworn Connor had taken Murphy’s statement as a challenge. His fingers pinched her nipples hard and she moaned again, nearly missing Murphy’s, “Good girl.” 

“See, brother,” Connor said as his hand moved down to the tie at her side. “This is how you unwrap a present as magnificent as this.” Marissa felt Connor’s other hand snake up her back as he pulled on the tie, finally releasing the bow. At practically the same moment that her shirt had come undone, Connor had unclasped her bra with his other hand. He now guided both of the articles of clothing away from her before bringing his hands to rest at her hips. 

“Aye, you’ve made your point,”  Murphy said before beckoning to Marissa. “Why don’t you come over here and let me try my hand at it?” Connor released her hips and gave her a gentle shove towards the bed. Marissa felt a shock of want thrum through her at the look of arousal in Murphy’s eyes as she made her way to the end of the bed where he rested. 

When she was within arms reach Murphy took hold of her hips and pulled her soundly between his knees. He leaned his head between her breasts as his hands worked their way down her ass. Marissa hummed at the warm kisses he placed on her body as he moved towards claiming one nipple in his mouth. As he worked her breasts with his mouth, his hands were absently pulling the fabric of her skirt higher and higher until finally, he had the bulk of the fabric in his hands. 

He tucked the fabric of the skirt into its waistband to hold it up while he massaged her ass. She was moaning in earnest now and completely unsure of what was turning her on more - the wet, hot press of Murphy’s mouth against her nipple or the firm grip of his hand on her ass. Before she could make up her mind Murphy’s hand left her ass to pull at the waist of her skirt and panties, gently guiding them down her legs until she stood naked before him. 

“You’re right, brother. T’was better to savor it.” Murphy moved backward on the bed, “Come here, lass,” he said as he settled against the headboard. Marissa made her way up the bed and eagerly straddled Murphy’s lap. She settled into a relatively tame kiss with Murphy before working up the courage to ask for what she needed.

“Touch me,” She said against his lips.

“I am touching you,” He grinned and squeezed her hips where his hands rested.

“Touch my pussy,” She only stumbled on the word a tiny bit and was proud of herself. Derek hadn’t enjoyed vulgar words but Marissa had always been a fan of how pussy sounded- and even more so of how it felt when it was warm and wanting. 

He arched up against her as he caught her lips with his. “You are amazing.” He trailed a hand down for a light brush over the top of her pussy, just a tease. “But we can’t go rushing this.” At her growl of frustration, he lifted her off of his lap, “Keep Connor company for a second, love.” 

Connor, who had undressed while Murphy was undressing Marissa, came to one side of Marissa, leaning down and taking a nipple into his mouth. She lay back against her pillows, bringing him along. He nibbled gently, then licked circles around the swollen point, distracting her from her complaint, while Murphy left the bed and stripped. She felt the bed dip beside her and then Murphy took her other nipple in his mouth and the only thing she could feel was a white burst of pleasure surging towards her center. 

Connor’s knee edged its way between her legs and came to rest just within reach of her groin. Just as she was about to begin grinding against Connor’s thigh, Murphy’s forearm came down across her hips and kept them rooted to the bed. He lifted his head from her breast and shifted up to speak softly into her ear, “Not yet.” 

Marissa lost track of time then, her world nothing but the wet heat of a tongue on her nipple or the gentle press of hands against her. It couldn’t have been long before Marissa felt herself growing closer to orgasm. The lack of direct contact on her folds was becoming infuriating and she was surprised to hear herself beg, “Please, oh please!” She reached out a hand to grab at Connor’s head, anchoring it to her as she stuttered out, “So-so close, oh Jesus, I just-”

“Lord’s fucking name,” Murphy said as he suddenly drew away from her breast. Seconds later Connor sat up and moved his knee away from between her legs. 

Marissa whimpered at the sudden loss of contact and turned on her side, tucking her legs up and closing her eyes tightly. Connor laid down and pressed himself against her back, stroking down her arm gently as her breath and pulse steadied. 

She felt Murphy lay down in front of her and tuck a sweaty strand of hair behind her ear. “You did beautifully, sweetheart,” he said before kissing her sweetly on the forehead. 

“I hate you both and I regret ever agreeing to this,” Marissa huffed out in response, though it was hard to take seriously when she smiled as she said it.

A few moments passed before Murphy broke the silence. “What do you say, Connor? Have we punished her enough?” His hand was reaching out, tweaking a nipple as he asked. 

Connor kissed her shoulder before replying, “I think if we do it anymore, she’ll kick us out and that’s the last thing I want right now.”

Murphy had already begun kissing her, pulling her closer to him. She could feel his erection and was gratified at the physical proof he was as affected as she. He rotated onto his back, pulling her with him so she straddled his lap and directly against his hard length. 

Marissa let out a loud moan as she pressed her hips down into Murphy’s, realizing she would finally be allowed to come soon. She looked up to Connor, “Condoms are in - uh” she had to pause as Murphy rotated his hips. “Top drawer, left nightstand,” she said, pressing her palms into Murphy’s chest for balance as she circled her hips trying to get pressure onto her clitoris. 

Connor tossed a condom onto Murphy’s chest then settled himself behind Marissa, grabbing onto her hips and lifting her up so Murphy could roll the condom on himself. He held his cock steady as Connor guided Marissa down onto it slowly. They both enjoyed the gasps she made at the stretch of muscle as Murphy filled her. 

Marissa tried to ride Murphy’s cock fast but Connor’s hands were still holding onto her hips. “Uh uh, love,” he whispered into her ear before nibbling on the lobe. “Just because we said you can come doesn’t mean we can’t say when.” She could feel Connor grinding himself against her back as he moved her hips in time with Murphy’s below them. 

Connor released her and got off the bed. Marissa quickly tried to take advantage of his absence, moving to try and speed up the pace Connor had helped set. Murphy grinned and took over for his brother using both his hands and hips to keep them at the same glacier pace. The self-control he demonstrated was admirable but fucking frustrating. 

She could hear Connor fiddling with something but was too focused on the sensation of Murphy beneath her to pay him much attention. Marissa could not help but notice when he returned to his place behind her and there was a slide of his hand against the crack of her ass. 

“Marissa,” he said as he kissed her neck. “Can I?” his index finger was pressing lightly across her asshole, already slick with lube. 

Marissa tensed up at the shock before her body adjusted to the slight pressure. “I’ve never-” she paused as Murphy adjusted beneath her, pelvic bone coming irritatingly close to her clit. “Yes, okay.” She gasped in a breath as Connor tucked his fingertip inside the tight hole. 

“I’ll go slow, just relax,” Connor said as Murphy stilled beneath her, allowing her to adjust to the sensation. As his finger sank deeper inside of her, Marissa let out a deep, low groan of contentment. The feeling of pressure was something entirely unexpected, almost as much as the pleasure she was getting from it. Just as she was getting used to the new feeling, Connor pulled his hand out only to enter again with two fingers, slower this time. 

Once he was settled Marissa began moving back against Connor’s hand, seeking the pressure of his knuckles moving inside her tight channel. She felt Murphy begin to shift beneath her and thrilled at the feeling of both of them inside her at once, a thin layer of skin between them. She flexed her muscles against Murphy’s dick as he thrust into her hard. He thrust once, twice more before he came inside her.

“Fuck, Connor,” he gasped, “but she feels good.” Murphy was still rocking into her, but she could feel him softening as he lifted her hips. Murphy’s movement caused Connor’s fingers to move deeper inside of her and she squirmed as he twisted them against her tight channel. 

Murphy had graciously opened a condom packet and handed the rubber to Connor to roll onto his dick. “Lean forward,” Connor said, one hand still inside her as his other guided her down. She was pressed against Murphy’s chest and he used the position to his advantage, kissing her deeply as his fingers carded through her hair. 

Connor gave her no notice before he drove inside of her warm, wet pussy. His fingers had gone still inside of her ass, but his cock was pushing into her from behind. This new position had him rubbing against the rough spot on her inner wall, driving her closer to the orgasm she had been promised.

He was pumping into her hard and fast and she gasped into Murphy’s mouth at each thrust. Murphy’s hand snaked down her body, fingers dancing lightly over her skin until he reached her slick folds. Murphy pulled away from her kiss, “You ready, Conn?” When Connor nodded in response Murphy’s thumb stroked over Marissa’s clit. It was the first time any of them had touched the sensitive nub all night and the sudden attention brought Marissa right to the edge. Murphy’s fingers were rubbing light circles around her clit and Connor’s cock was thrusting inside of her as his fingers curled inside of her ass. 

Her orgasm was hard, muscles spasming around Connor and sending him over the edge to his own orgasm. She was aware that she was crying out “Yes, oh fuck, yes” loudly enough to startle the neighbors but she could not bring herself to care. Murphy kept rubbing at her clit until she jerked away, giggling at the touch on her sensitive skin. Connor withdrew his fingers slowly, followed by his dick, and Marissa collapsed happily on top of Murphy. 

“I take back all the mean things I said about you two,” she mumbled against Murphy’s chest. “That was incredible.”

Connor settled down behind her again and leaned in close, their bodies a tangle of limbs as they all laid and basked in the afterglow. After a few moments, Marissa wiggled between them. “I definitely need a shower before sleep, anyone care to join me?”

They both followed her to the bathroom, positive that the three of them would never fit in the shower stall but eager to try. 


	3. I Know You're Looking Out For New Eyes in the Crowd

The three soon settled into a comfortable pattern. At some point in the week, she could usually expect a group text from one of the brothers asking her if she had any plans and would she like to meet up with them later. She rarely had cause to say no and to be quite honest her apartment hadn’t been this consistently clean since before Derek had moved in so she couldn’t say she minded. 

There were times when Marissa thought about sending her own proposition to them in their chat, but she was still nervous about asking them for much and besides they usually messaged her within a few days of her longing anyway. She could live with this. 

It had been a few weeks of this when Marissa got a message from Connor while at work. Curiously, it was not in the group chat they had taken to conversing in - even the dirty messages she and Murphy exchanged were in full view of Connor there. 

_ Can I come over tonight, love? _

Marissa fought back a wave of questions about Murphy before responding,  _ Sure, what time can I expect you? _

Connor’s reply came quickly, that he’d be there around 7 and he’d pick up some dinner on the way. The rest of Marissa’s day took a year to pass as she considered why Connor would be coming to see her alone tonight and furthermore why he hadn’t bothered to ask her in the group chat. She hoped everything was okay between the two brothers. 

This wouldn’t be the first time she had been alone with Connor - most times they all got together she ended up alone with one of them for some time, a trip to get coffee or food would come up and the brothers would share a look before one of them would volunteer to go. 

The first time Connor left and got back before she and Murphy had finished she had been slightly embarrassed when she heard him slip back into the room. Her embarrassment had lasted only until she’d opened her eyes to see Connor staring at them, overcome with lust as he stroked himself through his jeans. His arousal at watching them was all she needed to push her over the edge to her own orgasm, and she knew Murphy wouldn’t be too far after her. 

Still, Marissa knew this time was different and she was anxious to find out why. By the time she arrived home for the day she was more than ready for a glass of wine and a long shower but she knew she didn’t have enough time for both before Connor would be there. She opted for the shower and a little while later was glad - Connor had brought over a bottle of wine with food. 

He was impressed with her restraint - she made it an entire 15 minutes before asking after Murphy. “He had plans tonight,” Connor said as he put away the leftover food in Marissa’s refrigerator and topped off their glasses of wine. “I wanted to give him some space. We don’t do everything together, you know.”

Marissa laughed and let the subject drop as Connor walked her back into the counter and bent down for a kiss. Forgetting about her concerns was easy when Connor was kissing her, hard body pressed up against her while she pushed her hips forward into his. 

Connor had excused himself to use the restroom and bolstered by more wine than a Tuesday night typically called for, Marissa pulled out her phone to quickly send a text. 

_ You’re missing out - Connor’s got me soaked and I can’t stop thinking about being caught between the two of you.  _

She blushed a little and before she could put her phone down and forget she’d sent it, Murphy had replied. 

_ Next time, love. Just remember you owe me some solo time now. Maybe we’ll put on a show for Connor.  _

Marissa was poised to respond when Connor came back into the room and peered over her shoulder. “Leave him be,” he said as he gently pulled the phone from Marissa’s hands. “He’s on a date, let him enjoy it.”

Connor had his back to her so he missed the look of hurt that flashed in her eyes when she heard Murphy was seeing another woman. She downed the rest of the wine in her glass and moved to set it down in the sink before steeling herself against any bad feelings and turning into Connor’s waiting arms. 

* * *

After the first time Connor came over alone each brother seemed to make his way to Marissa’s apartment by himself at least once a month, sometimes more but Marissa tried not to think about that. To be honest she didn’t mind these solo visits; it was nice to have the focused attention of just one brother. It felt somehow more exotic and intimate than what they did when they were all together. Still, each time she saw a text from just one of them a small part of her twinged with hurt. 

Four months had passed since her first night with Connor and Murphy and Marissa was relieved her friends at work had finally stopped pestering her about going out every weekend to find a new boy. 

“So,” Molly started in on her as she put away the last of her food, “are you still seeing that Irish guy?”

Marissa smiled as she thought of both of the Irish men she saw on a regular basis, “I am, yeah.”

“How come you never talk about him? Give me some deets, Riss!” Molly said, leaning closer to her now. 

Marissa froze for a moment, “I mean- We aren’t that serious. There’s not much to tell?”

Molly’s phone buzzed on the table, thankfully giving her friend a reason she needed to leave. “Dammit, I have to be back upstairs to put out a fire. Don’t think you’re getting away with that answer, Rissy!” Molly was gone from the table in a flash and Marissa was happy to be able to let her guard down. 

As soon as she saw the look on Heather’s face, though, she realized she had relaxed too soon. “Be honest with me here, Marissa. You’re still seeing both of those guys aren’t you?” Heather didn’t even wait for her to respond before continuing, “I know I told you to go for it when you called me that night, but I made a mistake. I didn’t realize you were going to continue this and it’s wrong. You can’t settle down with two men!”

Marissa felt something inside of her twist as she began trying to defend herself. “Who said anything about settling down?” She knew immediately it was the wrong thing to say but it was too late. 

“So you’re actively dating other people besides them, then?” Heather raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a beat before continuing on. “That’s what I thought. You’re not serious with these guys but you aren’t looking for anyone else? Have you guys even discussed what you are to each other?” 

Marissa stayed silent, unsure how to dig herself out of this mess, and Heather continued on. 

“It sure sounds to me like you’re being used. I hope you enjoy your fuck buddies,” she said as she got up from the table leaving Marissa alone. 

Marissa was not going to let this conversation ruin her day. She had the next day, Friday, off to drive back home for the wedding of a girl she used to babysit and she was determined to have a good weekend. She plastered a smile on her face as she walked back to the desk she shared with Hope, “Go forth and eat,” she said dismissing the woman. 

The hour that Hope was gone for lunch had passed slowly and given Marissa far too much time to think about what Heather had said to her. She had been right, of course. They never had discussed if they were anything to one another, Connor and Murphy had never asked her for anything more than sex. On top of that they never even went anywhere but Romeo’s and back to her place. She wondered idly if they took the other girls they slept with out on actual dates and chastised herself at the stab of jealousy she felt at the thought. 

Marissa heard the elevator bell ring and had just enough time to paste a smile on her face before Hope arrived back at the desk. She was doing a pretty good job of forgetting her troubles until she heard the ping of an incoming text on her phone. 

_ See you tomorrow around 8, Sweetheart?  _ Connor had sent in their group chat. 

_ No can do, boys. I've got a wedding to go to back home this weekend. _

Murphy’s reply came quickly.  _ A wedding? We'll come, be your escorts. You need escorts at a wedding, Ma says. _

Marissa sighed heavily before shooting back a reply.  _ Yes, and my mother would love to know I'm sleeping with twin brothers.  _

Then _ : I'll let you know when I'm back in town, have a good weekend. _

“Uh oh,” Hope said as Marissa set her phone face down on the desk, unwilling to see if either of the men would reply. “I know that sigh.”

Marissa looked up at her friend with a raised eyebrow. “What sigh?”

“Don’t pretend you don't know what I’m talking about. The only time I’ve ever heard you sigh that heavily was when you were having trouble with Derek. What’s going on?”

Marissa considered her next words carefully, not willing to share too much and risk another scene like the one she’d had at lunch. “Well, I’ve sort of been seeing this guy for a while. We haven’t really put any labels on it or anything and Heather has started giving me crap about it.”

“Are you serious?” Hope asked her incredulously. 

“I wish. It’s just upsetting, I thought we were better friends than that. And on top of that, I’m going home this weekend to attend the wedding of a girl, Brittany, I used to babysit for. I’m happy for her, but she’s 18 and settling down and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting a little.”

“Ouch,” Hope said with understanding. “I’m sorry Heather is being like that. What did she say?”

“Well, she told me I was being used. She hardly knows anything about it, and yet somehow she is an expert.”

“Ugh, I hate to say it but I’m not that surprised. She and Molly both love drama, but I thought they’d at least leave their friends out of it. Just ignore her, if you don’t give her anything to stir things up with she’ll settle down. But maybe you’ll have fun at the wedding?”

Marissa nodded, “I’m sure it will be nice once I get past my mother’s inquiries into my dating life. If she knows I’m single she will undoubtedly try and set me up with someone at the reception.”

“Can you just tell your mom that you’re seeing that guy? She doesn’t have to know that you guys aren’t really serious,” Hope said, hoping a simple answer will work here. 

“I can try,” Marissa said. “She just usually wants a lot of details and I don’t exactly have many.”

“Well, just tell her what you can and deflect the rest.” Hope continued on when she saw Marissa’s raised eyebrow, “Mom, we should be focused on Brittany’s big day. Don’t you think these flowers are just lovely?” 

Marissa laughed at the thought of deflecting her mother for an entire visit home, but she was willing to give it a try. “I guess anything is worth a shot,” she replied to Hope before asking after her day. 

* * *

The small house Marissa’s family had been living in hadn’t changed all that much since she had left for the city. In fact, she was almost certain everything in her room was in the same spot it had been in when she left. Thankfully she’d arrived late enough at night to avoid any unwanted conversations with her mother, but she knew that she’d have to face them soon. 

Waking up in her high school bed to go to the wedding of someone she’d babysat while in high school was not high on her list of best wakeups ever. She distracted herself from those thoughts by remembering the time Murphy had chosen to wake her up using only his tongue. 

“Finally, you’re awake,” Marissa’s mother said as she walked into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. “I want to hear everything you’ve been up to since that man left.”

Marissa shuffled to the kitchen table to sit down. “Mom, can’t the interrogation at least wait until I’ve had some breakfast?”

“I always forget how grumpy you are when you first wake up,” she replied before bringing a plate of biscuits to the table. While Marissa ate breakfast and continued to wake up her mother updated her on what all had happened in town since the last time she had visited. There was never a shortage of gossip to cover, so Marissa sat back and enjoyed other people's drama for a while. 

Just as Marissa was pushing away from the table to excuse herself her mother stopped her. “Uh-uh, Missy. You owe me some information!” 

Marissa cringed at the childhood nickname she had always hated, then sighed and resigned herself to having to talk to her mother about her dating life. “Mom, there’s really not that much to tell,” she started.

Her mother made a face she hadn’t seen since she was a teenager, “Oh, don’t give me any of that crap. I already know about that Irish fellow.”

Marissa blushed as she remembered the series of texts she had gotten from her mother after Connor had answered her phone early one weekend morning. “Oh, yeah. That….” She’d been right, since that time her mother had stopped calling her to set her up on dates with men from the church. Unfortunately, she’d also started being slightly frosty towards her instead. “I’m sorry about that, Mom. He thought you were a friend calling to check up on me.”

Marissa’s mother looked unimpressed, “That still doesn’t excuse his being vulgar. And does this man have a name?” Ah, the classic eyebrow raise. Marissa knew she had to answer this question or she’d never hear the end of how promiscuous she was being. 

“Connor, mother. His name is Connor.” This was true and she’d just have to keep working with a cleaned up version of the truth going forward. 

Marissa’s mother nodded, “And are you seeing this Connor?”

She wanted to stand up and refuse to answer, a part of her even felt the urge to stomp her feet in anger. Instead, she gathered herself and continued to answer the questions calmly. “We’re keeping things pretty casual right now, Mom.”

“Casual? What on earth is that supposed to mean?”

Marissa sighed, “It means we haven’t discussed it, really.”

“Well, get on it, Missy. You’re not growing younger and if you wait too long everyone will think you’re damaged goods and you won’t be able to get anybody.” Marissa was glad she’d long ago grown accustomed to these types of jabs from her mother. According to her, she’d been a spinster since the day she turned 18. 

Marissa rolled her eyes and excused herself from the table to go get ready for the wedding. Thankfully her mother let her go without any further judgment. 

* * *

Brittany’s wedding was mostly uneventful - most of the guests were far too young for her mother to try and set her up with. Instead, she’d focused on the town gossip and left Marissa to entertain herself. 

That night when she was alone in her high school bedroom she found herself unable to sleep. When she had RSVP’d months ago she had been expecting to attend with Derek by her side, sharing this too-small bed with him and laughing together at her mother’s not-so-subtle hints that they should be getting married soon. Unfortunately, she was here alone and lonely. 

She remembered Murphy’s offer to escort her to this wedding and smiled to herself at the thought of how this weekend would have gone with the two of them accompanying her. Marissa felt a pang of desire run through her as she realized she certainly wouldn’t be wallowing alone - the twins would have been sure to fuck her into a blissful sleep. She had found herself wanting their touch more often lately and had been too embarrassed to message them about it. 

Marissa fell asleep imagining she was huddled down between the two brothers and woke up determined to do something about it. She hadn’t planned on leaving town until after church with her parents, but when she rolled out of bed she found she had little interest in attending and just wanted to get back to Boston. Before she could lose her confidence she shot out a quick message to Connor and Murphy. 

_ Hey guys, I’m going to be back in town earlier than I thought. See you at Romeo’s later? _

Marissa tossed the phone on the bed and left the room, channeling her nervous energy into coming up with a convincing excuse to her parents for missing church and leaving early. When she came back upstairs after breakfast she was simultaneously relieved and terrified to see a notification waiting for her on her phone. Murphy had replied. 

_ Sorry, love, I’ve got plans already tonight.  _

Marissa’s mood faltered a little before she considered that if Murphy had plans Connor was likely to be free anyway. She gathered her things and brought them down to the car, hugged her parents goodbye and pulled out of the driveway to head home. The drive back always passed by so much faster to her than the drive there and she was grateful to pull into the parking garage attached to her building. She stood up to stretch and checked her messages, anticipating a message from Connor confirming that he would meet her later. 

_ I’ve got something lined up for tonight too, lass. Say hi to Romeo for us? _

Marissa sighed and grabbed her bag from the car, trudging into the building and up to her apartment. She put her things away and collapsed on the couch, and prepared to waste the rest of her weekend in front of the television. 

A few hours passed, the sun had set, and Marissa was officially out of trashy tv to watch. “Screw it,” she said to no one, “I don’t need Connor and Murphy to go out! I don’t need men to have fun!” She threw on a change of clothes and her shoes and walked out the door towards Romeo’s before her nerves could catch up to her. 


	4. These Aren't Fighting Words, Just a Declaration

Romeo almost comically looked around her. “You’re here and not attached to a MacManus. Are they out back?”

“No. I’m here alone.” She bit it out bitterly then struggled to even out her tone. “They’re not here with me. Whiskey. Neat.” Marissa dug out a credit card and slid it across the bar. 

Romeo ignored the payment and grabbed her a glass. She tried not to view the generous pour as pity driven, but knocked half back before he had turned away. He leaned forward, his forearms folded against the bar. “Did something happen?” He had his serious face on, or at least what Marissa assumed was his serious face. She stared at him blankly for a beat too long and he continued on, awkward but earnest. “D-do I need to call them for you?” 

“What?” She laughed. “No!” That was too loud. She was too loud. “No. They’re both out on dates.” There. That was a more moderate tone.

“Oh,” Romeo nodded and pulled back. He looked like he had just solved a Rubik’s cube, proud but a little sad. “Oh,” he said again and examined his nails.

“Oh, what?” She asked, worried about what his answer might be. Romeo started to answer but was called over by another patron, flinging an apologetic look of regret over his shoulder as he headed off to serve them. A sick feeling grew in her belly, one that thought perhaps Romeo would echo Heather’s sentiments from Thursday.

Marissa stood up on the rungs of the stool and swiped the bottle Romeo had used to pour her drink. Of fucking course, it was the bottle marked MacManus. She huffed a laugh and refilled her glass with it, leaving it on the bar next to her. She stares blankly at the wall of booze, at the neon signs lighting up the wall, at the....is the ceiling made of shiny chrome sheets? How had she missed that on their many trips to Romeo’s? Although, to be fair her mind had generally been occupied by other intriguing concepts when surrounded by the twins. 

Romeo doesn't waste any time easing into the conversation when he finally got back. “Did you say anything to them about being exclusive?”

“Well, no, but-” she shook her head an argument on the tip of her tongue. 

“Do ya like the way they rev your engine?” His innuendo could not have been clearer but he added an eyebrow waggle to seal the deal. 

“Yes, obviously, but-” Again he cuts in. 

“Seems like you've got a few choices then- use them for incredible sex and get okay with the lack of labels, cut them loose and search out a relationship, or let me show you what you’re missing by not giving me a chance,” Romeo winked at her and even with the weight of his words, she stifled a laugh. 

“Oh, Romeo, there would almost have to be two of you to compete with them.” She stood up on the rung of the stool and leaned over the bar to press a kiss to his cheek. “What you say makes sense but it doesn't make me any less lonely tonight.” 

“Tell ya what, I'll treat you to a plate of nachos and I'll also give the guys shit for leaving you high and dry the next time I see them.” She grinned and accepted his offer, though as soon as he turned away Marissa frowned into her drink. 

Her choices were to remain a fuck buddy and accept there would never be anything more... Or dump the best sex she had ever had and hope she found somebody to be in a relationship with? That was a ball of suck. 

Romeo brought her a plate of nachos and hit her with a “You might try and tell them no every once in a while, might clue them into what they’re missing.” She had no good response to this, merely nodded as he was called away again.

Romeo tried to keep her company, but before the plate is empty, she decided it was time to head back home.

* * *

It wasn’t easy to enact her new plan; she still ached to see them nightly. Marissa gave into her desires once a week, reaching out to them when she was at her most horny, but otherwise, she used her limited willpower to turn them down. 

The first time she told them no, she gave a lame excuse about a work function and then turned off her phone and curled up on her couch to watch movies all night. They hadn’t protested beyond wishing her a fun night.

When she had used the same excuse the next week, they seemed to catch on that something wasn’t right. Marissa had turned them down for a night of fun on Wednesday and had pouted to herself for the rest of the week when they hadn’t reached out again, not even the occasional raunchy joke that Murphy was so fond of sending. Come Friday night, she had resolved herself to changing into her pajamas as soon as she got home, picking up her crossword book, and losing herself in crosswords and game shows. 

Turned out that telling a MacManus “no” only made him try harder. It seemed they decided if they just showed up she wouldn’t have a chance to say no. She’d reached a zone with her crosswords, the solutions flying out as soon as she read the clues so it took more than one knock for her to realize there was someone at the door. She jumped off the couch and ran to the peephole, surprised to see Connor and Murphy waiting on the other side. 

“Uh, hi?” Marissa said as she opened the door. “Why are you--We didn’t have plans, did we?” 

“No, we didn’t, Riss,” Connor said, his voice stern but his eyes searching her up and down for any sign of illness or injury. 

“Are ya’ injured, Riss? Or sick in some way?” Murphy asked, his eyes pleading with her for an answer. 

“Or perhaps,” Connor said, his head moving up and down as he took in the pajamas and her hair in a messy knot on her head. “Perhaps it’s your time o’ the month and ya didn’t want to tell us?” 

Marissa blushed furiously, “No, no! I’m not sick or hurt or...on my period. I’ve just been busy, is all.” She hoped they believed the brush off. “I was planning on spending the night in and relaxing, but you’re welcome to come in for a drink.” She stood back and motioned to let them into her apartment, hurrying in behind them to turn off the television. 

“So,” Murphy said as he took in the living room, “You’ve not been sick or injured, or otherwise indisposed, you’ve just opted not to see us. Is that right, lass?” 

“I told you,” Marissa spoke loudly, “I had work functions I had to attend both nights you asked me to meet you!” 

“Sure, and that blush means you’re telling the truth,” Murphy deadpanned. “You’ve been avoiding us and we aren’t after accepting that.”

“I think you’re coming out with us tonight,” Connor added. 

“You’re thinking right, brother,” Murphy smiled. “She’s coming out with us, and I’m going to choose what she’s wearing this time. None of those over-long skirts or turtleneck tops.” His grin had turned sly, excitement clearly written on his face. 

Marissa stammered out a reply, “I’ll go out with you guys, sure.” It really wouldn’t be a hardship to spend time with them both. “But I mean, what if I’m not comfortable in what you put me in?” 

“Don’t worry, love,” Connor assured her, “Murphy won’t put you in anything  _ too  _ revealing, wouldn’t want anyone else getting ideas.”

Murphy grabbed her hand and tugged her along to her bedroom with Connor following close behind. Connor sat on the bed and pulled Marissa down to sit next to him. Murphy went straight to the closet, disappearing behind the door as he flipped through the hangers. 

“Oh, this is nice,” Murphy began before stopping immediately, “Pity it’s sewn at the waist though.”

Marissa knew exactly what top he was pushing past. She’d bought it not long after they’d ‘unwrapped’ her from her shirt, excited about wearing the more business appropriate version to work and getting a thrill from the memory of their night together. 

“Ah, here it is, brother,” Murphy called, and Marissa could tell he was smiling. He exited the closet with one of her little-worn dresses. It was the wrap style that the twins had come to love, but with the way it tied on her hips, there was no way to keep her cleavage to a respectable level. She had only worn it out once before and had spent the whole night nearly holding it together to keep herself covered. 

“What are you waiting for, Riss?” Murphy asked, “Strip!” 

Marissa faltered just slightly before stepping out of her pajama pants and tugging the worn out shirt over her head. She took the dress from Murphy’s hands and began to pull it on, carefully wrapping the ties around her waist before repositioning her breasts so they might be better hidden- without a bra it was going to be a feat of engineering to keep them in. “Can I-” Marissa gestured towards her closet, “I have an accessory that always looks nice with this dress.”

Murphy stood aside and let Marissa enter her closet. She came out with a silky triangle scarf tied artfully around her neck, the tip of it reaching the plunging fabric of her dress. “No, take it off,” Murphy said immediately. He gazed down at her feet as Marissa untied the scarf from her neck, “Lose the socks too, I think I saw a pair of shoes in your closet I’ve a need to see you in.”

The grin on his face told Marissa everything she needed to know about the shoes Murphy was going to bring back. They’d been a purchase for a bridesmaids outfit that she had never worn again, the heels too tall for her everyday outfits.

Just as she had suspected, Murphy was carrying the too-high heels by the ankle strap. 

Marissa worried at the scarf in her hands. “Murph, I can’t wear those. I can barely walk in those.”

Connor wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her down to sit on his lap now. “Put ‘em on for us, lass. We’ll keep you upright.” he leaned forward so that his lips brushed against her ear. “Give Murph a good enough show and we may not even make it out of the door.” When she looked over her shoulder at him, he winked at her and she can feel the flush heating her cheeks. 

“Okay,” she agreed finally, still meeting Connor’s gaze. “Okay, I’ll wear them for you.” Her head swiveled as she felt Murphy grab her leg to fit the shoe on her foot. He was on his knees in front of her, reverently strapping her feet into the heels. 

Murphy kissed each ankle as he tightened the fiddly straps to hold the shoes on. When he had finished with each leg, he pressed a chaste kiss to the inside of her knee and stood up, holding out his hand.

“Stand for me, Riss. Let me see the full outfit.” When Murphy pulled her to stand Connor stood up as well, moving over to her jewelry organizer that hung from her wall. As she twirled- slowly, carefully- for Murphy, Connor picked up a thin gold chain from her collection. She stumbled straight into Murphy’s waiting arms and found him watching her with a large grin. The bastard was loving her lack of grace in the heels. “Good girl,” Murphy crooned and she glowered, still blushing.

Connor huffed a laugh at Marissa’s dark look. “Riss, lass, give him a break. Any man would love to have a woman stumbling helplessly into his arms. Come now, one last thing before your outfit is ready.” He gestured to her, calling her to him. She managed to walk to him, hips swinging wide to keep her balance. His eyes darkened, but he twirled his finger for her to turn around. Connor swung the chain around her neck and it lay right between her breasts, thin and glittering in the light.

He settled it back against her neck and Murphy approached to trail a finger down the chain, brushing the back of his hand against her breast. “Bellissima,” He breathed and his smile made it hard to pretend to still be mad. They had slipped into other languages before, making her head spin trying to keep up. After she asked, they had curtailed the use of foreign languages except in cases where they were certain she’d catch their meaning. Murphy complimented her most often in Italian, the words flowing out and warming her core without fail. “C’mon, then, let’s go to Romeo’s.”

“You’ll have me walk all the way there in these heels?” She tried not to make it a whine, but she definitely whined. Beautiful or not, these heels would kill her feet, and possibly her ankles should she stumble on the way there.

“Oh, you’ll be fine,” Connor soothed, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his side. “See now, I can take most of your weight; help hold you up.”

“Perfect,” Murphy ran a thumb over the top of his lip as he considered Marissa again, near-whispering his praise but Marissa heard it and smiled. Yeah, she could stumble her way to Romeo’s with them.

* * *

She paused at the front door, her head clearing of the lust these two inspired long enough to fully take in her outfit and it caused her insides to twist. Marissa was not a party girl. She didn't go out barely dressed and in fuck me heels. Could she even do this? 

Murphy came up beside her and tugged at a piece of flyaway hair with a grin. “It's okay to say no to us, sweetheart. We've only the wish to spend time with you and if that means we all go sit on your couch, that's fine.” He took in her outfit again. “However, I'd certainly prefer to show you off and let everyone know you're taken.”

“Are you sure I’m, uh, decent to go out?” Being sexy for the twins was one thing, but going out in public was entirely different. She worried at the hem of the dress, brushing down against her legs as if that would help.

“You’re perfect, darlin’,” Connor smiled at her. 

“And you’re sure you don’t mind having to half-carry me to the bar?”

“We told you, love, we’re lucky to have you stumbling to us for help,” he reassured her. 

“Okay, then. Let’s go,” Marissa decided, grabbing onto the tiny bit of confidence their attention gave her. Footloose, fancy-free...sexy. She could be these things with these men.

She managed, barely, to make it to the elevator without help but once it landed on the first floor, Murphy stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close as they left the car. The stoop tripped her up a bit, but she barely stumbled with the help of Murphy beside her.

“Not a worry, darlin’, I’ve got ya,” He whispered in her ear- and like butter, her worries melted. Yeah, she could lean on him for a few blocks if he’d do that whisper thing again. The bastard knew what it did to her; his smirk confirmed that fact.

Typically as they walked, the brothers took turns touching her, holding her, leading her to wherever they were headed. In deference to her walking troubles, this time they only switched at the halfway point. It was a smooth switch that would have gone perfectly had they not been at a crosswalk about to cross the intersection. 

Marissa was so wrapped up in the feel of Connor’s arm sliding around her that she forgot to focus on the rhythm of her steps and wound up more or less twisting into Connor’s embrace.

“Did you do that on purpose, love? I’d have given you a hug had you only asked.” He teased, straightening her back up after a quick kiss. 

“Oy, don’t hog her affection,” Murphy groused from behind them but Connor only laughed as they continued on. 

It irked her a bit that they were right. She managed to walk upright fine with their help; no one seemed to catch on to the fact she was utterly inept at the whole heels higher than the sky thing. That isn’t to say she wasn’t completely relieved when they came to the door of Romeo’s. 

Marissa was beyond ready to be sitting with her feet not needed. Connor guided her up to the bar, only releasing her when she was steadily leaning on the bar front. “Romeo!” Murphy called out as he walked up behind her, both of his hands coming to rest comfortably on her waist. He fiddled for a moment at the tie of the dress, the one that if untied would make the front of the dress fall open completely. Then his hand snaked lower to the hem of the dress as it came to a point on her thigh. Murphy seemed to be content to lazily run his fingers across the hem there, but just as she relaxed into the caress, he flipped his hand deftly under the hem and traveled up to her panties.

Her pulse jumped, her heart nearly in her throat as Murphy’s fingers brushed gently at the crotch of her panties. “Shhh, love,” he whispered, instantly calming her nerves, “No one can see you.”

Connor stood beside them, steadfastly examining the television above the bar as Murphy continued his teasing ministrations. With Connor beside her and Murphy behind her, a fellow patron would have to be crouched near under the bar to see anything amiss. Marissa tried to relax into the rising bliss but stiffened as she caught sight of Romeo heading over from behind the bar.

“I am still dreaming about our kiss, Marissa,” Romeo teased in greeting. “I told these two to be careful, next time you come in here without them I may not be able to hold you back.” He leaned forward, eyes twinkling, to stage whisper, “Y’know, I think they may be jealous of our chemistry.”

Murphy’s hand was completely inside her underwear now, his fingers dipping down between her folds. Marissa knew she should respond to Romeo, but she wasn’t positive she could get words out that weren’t breathy or potentially just a moan. 

She cleared her throat, “Is that so?” she managed to get out, hoping it came across as breezy rather than breathy. She could feel her cheeks turning red, her nipples hardening under her dress which she was positive Romeo could see. Murphy’s fingers continued their soft exploration, circling her clit but never quite touching it. 

“Three whiskeys, Romeo,” Connor ordered for them all, his voice sterner than she’d ever heard him speak to the barkeep, cutting off the teasing banter Romeo had obviously wanted to continue. “We’ll take the bottle with us,” he added. 

“And keep your eyes to yourself,” Murphy said, his hand slowly making its way out of Marissa’s dress. 

“Alright, alright,” Romeo said, his hands up in surrender. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you when she leaves you to run off with me,” he winked at Marissa as he set the bottle and three glasses down in front of them. 

Marissa was thrilled to be done with the conversation until she realized it meant she’d be walking across the bar in the heels again. She had a bit of pride and though the patrons were hardly interested in her when they had their beers to consider, she really didn’t want to be half carried across the floor.

Murphy wrapped an arm around her to help turn her around to whichever table had opened (magically, always) for them, and she made up her mind. On spotting the table, she tossed a grin over her shoulder, summoned all of her balance, and strutted her way across the floor.

There was only one wobbly moment halfway across, but by god, she knew her ass looked great swaying in front of them. They thought they had the monopoly on teasing; watch her go. 

Unfortunately, her sexy confidence waned as she reached the booth. It being a bench, Marissa was concerned about the mechanics of scooching across the seat gracefully. Connor came up behind her with a small appreciative whistle as he sat the bottle and stacked glasses on the table.

“Maybe we should have stayed home; I think I needed that to have been a private show.” He had a wolf-like grin and Marissa felt warmth flood her to her toes. They did that for her; no matter how much she questioned their relationship they still managed to turn her on with just a look. “Need some help getting in, darlin’?” He had picked up on her choices getting into the booth.

“That’d be great, actually. Don’t want to flash the bar, right?” She answered.

“Right,” Murphy agreed, gruff and so close behind her. He slid into the booth and turned to hold his hand out to her. He helped her lower herself down onto the bench, Connor close behind her to provide a shield should she slip. 

It wasn’t exactly graceful but she managed to carefully move herself to the center of the bench, tucking her dress properly around her. Now that she was seated, her feet reminded her of how much walking she had done and demanded she prop them up. 

As Connor slid in beside her and began to fill up the glasses for them, she slid her feet up to prop on the seat across from her. She sighed in pleasure as her feet found purchase and rested for the first time since she had been hooked into the torture devices. 

Murphy ducked his head to examine her seating arrangement under the table and huffed a laugh. “Very nice, lass. That’s near perfect, eh brother?” 

Connor slouched in the booth to match Marissa, his head angling so he could see what his brother had commented on. “So close, brother, you’re right.” Connors' hand snuck under the table, his fingers toying with the hem of the dress until he reached the bare skin of the underside of her knee. He tickled her there lightly, just until Marissa’s leg jumped up to get out of the way, her foot falling to the floor with a hard thud. “Now it’s perfect,” Connor smiled, his own hand coming to cup at the moist fabric of her panties, now easy to access with one of her legs dropped. 

Marissa grabbed at her glass and drank. Her skin tingled and twisted, pleasure and a bit of shame tinged fear combining in her. He trailed a finger up her center, dragging the fabric with him in a teasing pull and she shuddered with it. Her head lolled back against the booth and she found herself looking up at her own reflection, distorted but clear in the shiny chrome ceiling tiles.

She froze and clamped a hand down on Connor’s arm, her fingers squeezing his arm until his fingers had stopped their motion. “Connor,” she hissed as she gestured up to the ceiling, “Anyone can see what we’re doing if they look at the ceiling!” 

“Is that all you’re worried about, sweetheart?” Connor smirked as he slowly removed his hand from between her legs. “Why don’t you come with me; we’ll take a little field trip across the bar.”

Marissa fixed her skirt in her lap as she put her other foot down from where it rested on the booth across from them. Connor was already up and out of the booth with a hand reached out to help her from the booth. She glanced over to Murphy to make sure he wouldn’t mind their leaving and bit her lip at what she saw. His hand was making the slow, teasing circles she knew he loved to drive her mad with, only this time he was caressing his own hardened cock through the fabric of his jeans. Murphy met her eye with a wink and a mischievous grin, “Go on, love, I’m just demonstrating how no one will see.”

She took Connor’s proffered hand and got out of the booth, careful not to trip when she stood once more on the teetering heels. His arm went immediately around her waist as he steered them towards the jukebox that rested in the corner of the bar. “When we get to the machine take a look back at the ceiling above Murphy,” he whispered into her ear. 

They reached the jukebox and Connor began to slowly scroll through the available songs as Marissa looked back across the bar to find the booth Murphy still sat in. Even with the neon lights, there wasn’t enough clear light for her to fully make out his features, though her face heated at the thought of him still stroking himself at the table. She cast her gaze up at the chrome ceiling, her eyes moving across each of the tiles until she found the blurred vision of Murphy reflecting there. She could hardly make out any of his features, in fact only knew it was Murphy because she had just confirmed he was still seated in that direction. She tried to see if she could tell what his hands were doing under the table, but the only thing she could clearly make out was the top of the table. 

“So you see,” Connor said as he played at selecting some songs, not looking back at her, “No one can see what we’re doing under that table. Not that anyone’s interested in anything other than their own glasses in any case.”

There wasn’t much she could say in response to that. She bit at her lip, considering the truth in Connor’s words, the heat in Murphy’s eyes, the desire pooling in her even now. But there was still a thread of niggling doubt.

“If you’re not comfortable, we don’t have to do anything at all, we’ll just keep drinking and go back to your apartment for some fun later.” Connor turned to lean a shoulder against the machine, facing her.

“Are you sure?” Marissa asked, a tiny selfish bit of relief thrumming through her. 

“Positive. We’re not after making you do something you’re not into.” Connor smiled at her. “It’s no skin off my back anyhow. This is more Murph’s thing than mine.”

“His...thing?” She asked even though she caught his drift.

Connor nodded, “Aye, you know how you get off on obeying what we ask of you? He gets off on playing around in public, that one. It’s the thrill of potentially getting caught, I think. He always has wanted a bit of show.”

Marissa thought about it for a moment, looking back at their booth then to Connor and asked, “What do you get out of me doing this, then? If this isn’t your thing at all, why do it?” 

Connor hummed softly, “I get to watch you squirm in your seat while Murphy teases you. I get to watch your face as you come, shaking apart beneath our fingers and struggling not to scream. The public bit may not do it for me, but the feel of you, the watching you come apart? That will always be ‘my thing,’ darlin’.” He smiled, wicked and wanting. “You’ve got the most expressive face, and I do love watching you.”

“Oh.” It was all Marissa could manage, her eyes darkening as she thought about Connors words. She never could manage to stay silent when she was coming; a stuttering thrill shot through her at the thought of trying to keep quiet for them. 

Suddenly, it occurred to her that she held all the power here. They would either get to play out their fantasies, or they would sit and finish their drinks before going back to her apartment to have fun. She pushed herself off of the jukebox with a smile on her face and walked confidently across the bar towards where Murphy was waiting. She managed a slow and steady gait across the floor, nerves kept her steps tentative but the feeling of Connor’s eyes on her kept her moving forward. If Connor liked to watch, she was more than happy to give him something to look at. 

She reached the booth and was met by Murphy, who stood to greet her with a quick kiss and a hand to help her slide into the booth. Marissa looked back across the bar in time to see Connor discretely adjust himself in his pants before he headed back towards their table. Murphy joined her on the bench, crowding her into the corner of the bench and wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“What did you and Connor talk about over there, Riss? I saw you whispering,” Murphy smirked as his brother scooted onto the bench across from them. 

“Nothing important,” she smiled. “Connor just filled me in a little on something each of you likes. The playing field wasn’t exactly balanced, what with you knowing how quickly I’ll obey your requests.” As she spoke Marissa began to slide back down in her seat, one leg reaching out to the bench across from her to rest next to Connor’s lap as her other spread to meet Murphy’s knee. Once she was settled, she leaned into Murphy who pulled her in tighter to his side. 

Across the booth, Connor pulled leg carefully into his lap, avoiding poking anything important with the heel of her shoe. His finger idly circled her ankle, a light tickling sensation that had her completely focused on her foot. Marissa gasped when he popped open the strap to her shoe and slipped it off to thud forgotten next to him on the bench seat.

Of course, her gasp was immediately followed by a tiny giggle she tried to smother with a hand. How could she be surprised by the fact he would take her shoe off in a bar when earlier, their fingers had been where they’d been?

Murphy took her gasp as a sign and turned into Marissa in the booth, his free hand coming to rest lightly on the wrap front of her dress. Marissa startled at the touch causing Murphy to squeeze her arm gently. “You sure you’re alright with this?” he whispered into her ear, and if Marissa hadn’t been okay with it she would have been after his breath tickled her ear. 

“Yes,” she breathed out, raising her leg to hook it over Murphy’s knee the way he’d positioned her weeks ago. 

Murphy wasted no time in moving his hand this time, brushing aside the fabric of her dress to rub teasing circles onto the skin of her inner thigh. She had thought that with permission, Murphy would jump head first into seduction, but instead, he was teasing and circling the area she now desperately wanted him to touch. His fingers trailed lazily up and down her thighs, more spreading her dress open than approaching her panties. Connor seemed to pick up on the teasing pace his brother had taken up, running his thumbs up and down the soles of her feet; not light enough to be true torture but not firm enough to be a massage.

Infuriating.

Marissa tilted her hips up, trying to signal to Murphy where exactly his hand should be headed on his next stroke up her thigh. Instead, he avoided it altogether, bringing his hand up to toy with the gold chain around her neck. 

“Seriously?” She finally bit out.

“What? It’s a lovely chain. I’m just after admiring your jewelry,” Murphy smirked at her. He let the chain fall back, cool against her skin, following its length with his fingers. The backs of his fingers brushed barely there under the neckline of the dress, and her nipples responded to their nearness. 

“Murph if you don’t touch me right now, I swear to God,” Marissa ground out.

“Slip your panties off and pass them to Connor.” He whispered, removing his touch from her completely. “Do it nice and slow for me, now.” Marissa’s breath caught at his order, but when she met his gaze, she found him staring her down, a fire burning in his eyes.

She pulled her foot free of Connors' hand, pressing it against the edge of his bench to lever herself up a hair's breadth- just far enough to slip her panties down over her hips. Letting herself back down to the seat only after the fabric had cleared her ass, Marissa moved her gaze from the patrons she feared might know what was happening to Connor across the booth. His eyes were drinking her in, ready to devour her. As she leaned forward to remove her panties from first one foot and then the other, she finally moved to face Murphy. 

His expression was near enough to have her coming apart right there without his touch on her. Murphy looked at her, eyes gleaming with lust, looking for all the world like he wanted to praise her for doing exactly as he asked. 

Marissa grinned, shy but sly, as she crumpled up the fabric in her hand and passed it over top of the table to Connor. “Take care of those for me, will you?” She asked and she nearly nailed flirty. Her nerves had steadied, buoyed by Murphy's need. 

With her task fulfilled, she resumed her original position, placing her foot gently back in Connor's lap and hooking her other leg back over Murphy's knee. “Good girl,” Murphy said quietly as he curled himself back around Marissa, his hand quickly resuming the teasing gestures he’d been making earlier. 

“Please?” she breathed out the plea, unable to deal with another round of the teasing torture. Marissa had done as he’d asked, shouldn’t she now be rewarded?

“All you had to do was ask.” Murphy’s hand is like a targeted missile, easily seeking out and finding her swollen labia and running his fingers alongside it, tugging gently to further tease her. 

“Oh, God, Murphy,” Marissa bit her lip on a moan before she cried out, begging Murphy to touch her where he knew she was eager and waiting for it. Her eyes found Connor’s and widened when they took in his gaze. His pupils were wide and dark, his face a mask of lust as he watched the way Murphy had Marissa squirming in her seat. 

“Mmmm,” Murphy hummed into her ear just the way he knew she liked, “Be quiet for us, lovely. We wouldn’t want Romeo to have to make a show of kicking us out.” His fingers were trailing further and further up her slit, closer to the apex where she needed to feel his touch. 

She nodded in response, not trusting her voice to stay at a reasonable volume should she use it. Closing her eyes, she blocked out the thought of anything but the way Murphy’s fingers were teasing her, rubbing and stroking in just the right places to drive her wild. Before long Marissa realized she was making faint mewling sounds, her hips jerking forward with the small range of motion she had available to her. 

The moment she had realized the noises were from her was the same moment Murphy’s hand retreated to the top of the table, glistening fingers gripping the neck of the whiskey bottle as he filled all three glasses. Marissa couldn’t help it, she let out a groan of frustration at the lack of contact. 

“Cheer up, Riss,” Murphy smiled as he set the bottle down and moved his hand inside the front of her dress, quickly finding her nipple and tweaking it. “I’ve not forgotten about you,” he smiled. 

An hour ago Marissa never would have imagined being in this situation, her legs spread wide in the middle of a public bar while she near begged Murphy to keep touching her. Yet here she was, mumbling wantonly to him and begging for release. 

“Oy, Connor,” Murphy said as he gazed around the bar, eagerly taking in the sights of the patrons milling about. “Isn’t that Sheila over there by the bar?” He gestured to a red-headed woman who was laughing throatily to something Romeo had just said. 

Connor turned in the booth so he could look out at the bar behind him and easily spotted the woman Murphy had mentioned. “Aye, brother, I do believe it is,” Connor grinned. 

“S-someone you know?” Marissa asked breathily, her eyes lazily making their way towards where the two brothers were looking. Murphy’s hand left her nipple and made the way back down between her legs without even glancing at her. 

“Someone Murphy knows better, I’d venture to say,” Connor replied with a wink. 

“Oh, and you don’t know her sister Mary Ann just as well?” Murphy quipped back, his fingers pushing into Marissa’s tight channel even as he joked with his brother. 

“Oh,” Marissa replied, though it came out more a moan than anything else. “Should I be worried? What if she comes over here?” She knew she should care more about what would happen if the woman approached their table, but she was having a hard time focusing on anything but the delicious push and pull of Murphy’s fingers as they played between her legs, his thumb slowly making its way to circle her swollen clit. 

“Nah,” Murphy said quietly as he pressed his hand further into her, “You’ve got nothing to worry about, sweetheart. Connor will head her off if it comes to that.” Marissa was biting her lip in earnest now, she could taste a little bit of copper from where she had torn her skin. Soft cries were leaving her anyway, clearly driving Connor wild if the hard length under the sole of her foot had anything to say about it. 

“Besides,” Murphy continued, this time whispering into Marissa’s ear the way he knew she liked. “Sheila would never let me do something like this.”

His words reminded her of where they were, in a bar on a Friday night that had more than a few people in it. The realization sent a surge of pleasure through Marissa as Murphy’s thumb danced just right around her clit and Marissa found herself shaking apart, her mouth clamped shut to keep from screaming her release for all of the patrons to hear. 

Marissa threw her head back against the booth, staring up at the ceiling to try and calm her breathing. Her lip was sore from biting it in an effort to keep quiet. She thought she might have actually succeeded in not drawing the attention of everyone in the room, but who could be sure? 

“Riss,” Connor’s voice sounded rough from across the table and she slowly rolled her head to look over at him.

“Hmm?” Marissa managed as an answer and felt proud to manage that.

“Look at Murphy’s hand.” He said, and Marissa lowered her gaze. Murphy was still curled into the booth, hiding most of her from sight. His right hand rested upon the table top, his fingers parting to reveal tiny strands of glistening proof of her arousal. “You’ve made a mess and you need to clean it up, love.”

Her blush traveled at light speed to flush the skin from her cleavage to her hair. There was a moment's hesitation before Marissa realized what she had just done, coming in public seemed to have freed her of most of her inhibitions. She glanced up at Connor from under her lashes, “Yes, sir,” she smiled while reaching out to grab Murphy’s wrist and bring it to her mouth. Slowly, she sucked his two fingers into her mouth, tongue coming out to lick at the space in between his fingers before she drew them all the way into her mouth. 

Pride filled her more than any other emotion when she noted the shell shocked expression on both their faces as she pulled Murphy's fingers from her mouth. When she licked her lips, an experiment to see if they were truly mesmerized by her actions, Murphy stood up and near pulled her with her. 

“I think it's about time we get you home,” he voice sounded husky and rough and not nearly as in control as he had seemed all night. She was left to slide her foot back into her shoe without assistance, laughing at his insistence. 

Connor stood as well, leaving a few folded bills on the table before they bracketed her on the way out of the front door. They were so desperate to get her home, they didn't even stop to smoke on the way to her apartment.

* * *

 

Marissa could never tell if the twins planned on staying the night when she saw them. The only indication she ever had was what they did in the moments after they’d finished sex, once they’d all caught their breath and had begun to stick together. One of the twins would untangle himself from their pile and make way to the balcony for a cigarette, the other one never far behind. If along the way they stopped and put on their jeans, Marissa knew they’d be leaving at the end of the smoke. 

That night when Murphy finally climbed out of his bed and stooped to pick up his jeans from the floor, Marissa rolled to her side pretending to sleep. When Connor followed him up slowly a few minutes later, kissing her on the temple before exiting the bed, she stayed silent so they wouldn’t feel the need to make an excuse to leave. As she drifted off to sleep she resolved to talk to Molly about any eligible bachelors at lunch on Monday - both sides could play this game. 


	5. Breaking Like the Heart that's Stuck Inside My Skin

Heather had been avoiding their lunchtime group ever since her angry tirade at Marissa. Not that Marissa really minded her absence; she was still sore over the harsh words from her erstwhile friend. Heather had treated it as a departmental scheduling conflict and not as though she were avoiding Marissa which meant Molly breezed through their lunches without demanding juicy gossip details.

Convenient, as Marissa had only just worked up the nerve to make her ask.

“Hey, Molly, how are things with Tom?” She asked after they settled themselves in with tacos from the food truck outside of their office building.

“Oh, wow. They’re just...” Molly stared at her tacos and blushed. “They're super great, actually.”

“I’m so happy for you!” And she genuinely was happy for Molly. 

Molly looked up and grinned back at Marissa. “And your Irish fella?”

Marissa tried to control her expression, tried to maintain the mask but failed. “They’re not great.” She wondered how much to say. “Turns out we aren’t exclusive and I feel...”

“What an ass,” Molly huffed and threw her taco down. “Do you want revenge?”

“Uhhh,” Marissa stared at Molly’s fierceness. 

“Seriously, do you want a revenge date? ‘Cause Tom’s got a friend I think would treat you right- and he looks fine when he dances.” 

“Actually, that sounds like exactly what I need,” Marissa nodded. “This week, as soon as possible. Revenge date. I like it!”

“Okay, we’ll probably head out on Thursday, since some of Tom’s friends are into Karaoke.” Marissa angled a wary glance at Molly and she laughed. “Not Ted, I promise. And the ones that do sing are at least passably good.”

Marissa made fists in her lap. She was going to do this, and damn them for not wanting her and only her. “Sounds perfect.”

* * *

Thursday dawned before Marissa was fully ready for it. She had an outfit laid out for work and three more besides that in a duffle bag for Molly to vote on for the night. First dates were ridiculous, but at least this was somewhat of a group date. She would get to meet Ted and spend time with him in a situation where if he sucked, she could simply ignore him in favor of other people.

Footloose, fancy-free, and in charge of her own damn dates, thank you.

Even Hope seemed thrilled at Marissa’s date, though to be honest, Hope was exactly the kind of supportive coworker who would wish you well on every date you had- even if you have 5 a night. As long as you covered her lunch shift and didn’t make extra work for her, that is.

When the imaginary quitting bell rang, Molly was immediately at her desk making grabby hands. “What do we have to work with? Show me, show me!”

They walked together down to a restroom that hardly anyone used. Molly pulled out her outfits, nixing one immediately before pulling the top from one and the skirt from the other to make a perfect new outfit for the night. She had worn wedge platforms, having been warned that Ted was tall. All in all, the outfit and the shoes made her look like one of Molly’s crowd- young, and fun, and here for the party. She kinda liked the effect. 

Ted seemed to like the effect as well. When Molly introduced them outside of the karaoke bar, he smiled wide and gripped her hand in a friendly but awkward handshake. After she turned back to Molly, she watched him subtly take in her outfit and smile wider. 

It was a tiny win, a thrill to know she had that pull on guys other than Connor and Murphy. 

Marissa used all of the flirting techniques her mom had ever preached at her. As they talked, she angled her body towards him making sure to file away things he said to comment on later. Every once in a while she would touch him on the arm or shoulder, their heads leaned close to be able to hear one another over the sound of the latest singer. He seemed kind of reserved, only offering a few comments about the music and a few introductory personal facts, but he wasn’t offensive or rude. All in all, he came across as a quiet, humble man. 

When Ted suggested they head to the diner down the street for something more substantial than bar food, she immediately agreed without second-guessing it. 

“Molly, we’re headed to the diner down the street,” Marissa told her friend as Ted walked over to say goodbye to a few of his friends in the queue for the stage.

Molly pantomimed squealing in joy, wrapped her in a warm hug. “Yay! Have fun!” Marissa smiled at Molly’s enthusiasm and waited until Ted came over to get her.

Once out in the street, they both spoke at the same time, trying to cover the sudden awkward silence of the night air. 

“Sorry for-” Ted started.

“I’m glad we-” Marissa stuttered out and then laughed. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

Ted grinned and looked down at his shoes before looking up at her again. “It’s just... I’m sorry Molly decided our first date should be a group thing. I do better one-on-one.”

“Well, then, the audition continues. We’re about to be one-on-one, after all.” Marissa couldn’t decide if his aww, shucks personality was adorable or annoying. “It’s probably better to meet in a group though, takes some of the pressure off. We’ve gotten the awkward part done, now it’s time for food and getting to know each other.”

“Exactly.” He turned and pointed the way to his favorite place nearby. Part of her thrilled at the simple fact he was not taking her to a bar. As they walked, she described some of the weirdest fair foods she had ever experienced and he shared the weirdest animals he had ever eaten.

When he opened the door for her, he was in the middle of telling her “Shark probably won’t ever be on a diner menu, but it was pretty good.” and she realized they had talked nonstop on their walk.

That was a good sign, right?

The problem was, Ted went silent as soon as they were seated across from one another. She tried valiantly to bring him into a conversation and he would talk briefly but then clam up. He seemed attentive enough to whatever it was she was saying. Unfortunately, no part of her wanted to carry the conversation all night. 

Marissa ate half of her burger and then claimed she was stuffed full- and gosh, a little tired to boot. Ted did that annoying dance where he grabbed the check before she could and paid for both their meals and she packaged up her leftovers. 

She was grumbling in her head about men, and quiet men at that, as they stepped out of the diner. He came up behind her and gently steered her to a waiting cab, his hand at the small of her back.

“I called a cab- or well, I texted for one. I didn’t want to walk you home if you weren’t comfortable with me having your address, but I did want to make sure you got home safe. I’ll uh, pay the fair?” He scratched at his ear when she turned to look at him. “That is if it won’t offend you?”

“Thank you, Ted,” Marissa went up on her tiptoes to press a chaste kiss to his cheek.

The date hadn’t been perfect, but it had been...nice. Marissa could settle for nice if it would have her.

* * *

_ Can I come over tonight, lovely? _

Marissa read the text from Murphy in their private text conversation. She was torn, on the one hand, seeing Murphy would be fun after the stressful workday she’d had so far, but on the other, she wasn’t really in the mood for anything too sexy to happen. She answered a few unimportant e-mails while she thought of the perfect response. 

_ It’d be great to have a dinner and tv companion, but I can’t offer much more than that. _

She’d finally come up with a response and hoped the message got across okay. She pretended she wasn’t anxiously waiting for a response while she fielded a few phone calls. 

_ Sounds good to me. Should I get something for us to drink on my way over? _

Marissa grinned as she typed out a reply and tried to ignore the nagging thought that she hadn’t felt nearly this happy for a single moment during her entire date with Ted. 

When she answered the door for Murphy later that night she was already in her pajama pants with dinner warm in the oven. “Hey,” she smiled as she stepped aside to let him in. “I know the last time you came to my door and I was in my pj’s you convinced me to go out. I just want to let you know there’s no way I’m changing from this outfit tonight,” she joked with him, “Don’t even try it.” 

“I would never!” Murphy said in mock outrage. “Besides,” he said softly as he stepped in close to her, “You look great just like you are.” Marissa raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips in disbelief. “No!” Murphy insisted, “You do. All comfortably sexy with your shirt falling off your shoulder like that.”

“Murphy, I-”

“I know, you don’t want to do much tonight and that’s fine by me. I just wanted to make sure you know how lovely you are no matter what you’re wearing.” 

Marissa blushed and ducked her head. “Um, there’s lasagna in the oven for dinner,” she gestured behind her towards the kitchen, “And there were a few movies I was thinking we could watch?” 

“I’ll follow you,” Murphy said as he slipped off his shoes and jacket.

* * *

As he walked home the next morning a slow smile grew on his face. He’d thoroughly enjoyed his night with Marissa even though they’d just stayed in and spent time together. It wasn’t something he was used to doing with women, and he wasn’t sure there was any other woman he’d be happy doing it with. 

“And where have you been?” Connor’s voice called from the bedroom of their apartment. “I got home before midnight last night and expected to find you here jerkin’ off to a magazine alone but here you are waltzing in after the suns come up.”

“Your date not go well?” Murphy asked as he changed out of his clothes from the night before. 

“Well that’s not much of an answer for me, now, is it?” 

“‘M just sayin’, you said you were home before midnight. Doesn’t sound like it went well, is all,” Murphy replied with a smile. 

“Well you’ve got your answer then, haven’t you?” Connor snarked. 

Murphy shrugged and made for the kitchen for a pot of coffee. “I was with Marissa,” he told Connor when he joined him. 

“Well at least one of us got lucky last night,” Connor grinned. 

“Nah,” Murphy dismissed the comment. “We ate dinner and watched a scary movie. She said she needed the excuse to cuddle up to me and I didn’t mind.”

“And you didn’t-”

“She told me up front she didn’t want to, we just spent a nice night together. Woke up when her alarm went off this morning still curled on the couch. And Connor?” Murphy smiled wide, “I wouldn’t trade it for nothing.”

* * *

She likened it to exercise, this experiment with Ted and keeping both Connor and Murphy at arm’s length. The more she tried it, the stronger she got. 

Unfortunately, just like exercise, she was prone to moments of weakness where she ignored what she  _ should _ do when given half a chance.

Marissa simply practiced filling every moment of her time so that she wouldn’t have the chance to give in to weakness and contact the twins. Molly had an active after-work social life and Marissa threw herself into it. She volunteered to cover after-hour events at work. She asked Ted out to dinner twice a week and practiced drawing him into conversations. It was difficult to do, but she liked to think she was making progress.

_ Riss- _

_ We stopped by to see if we could take you out tonight, but it looks like we missed you. Maybe we’ll finally catch up this weekend? _

_ Miss you, M & C _

The note, written on a scrap of paper and tucked into the jam of her door the night before, mocked her from its inconspicuous place on her desk. They had apparently dropped by while she had been out. Her text that she’d be too busy to see them hadn’t convinced them and they had come over to check.

Sleepy Marissa hadn’t had the brain power to contemplate a reply for them and had instead tucked the note into her purse for Morning Marissa to handle. Morning Marissa stared at it with heart eyes for an hour before work had stolen her attention.

Now it was thirty minutes until lunch and she needed to make up her mind: should she reach out or should she be cold? And herein lay her problem. They didn’t want her, not really; not wholly and only her. They sought only to borrow her body for a bit of fun before heading off on other dates and that one truth pained her. Even then, Marissa wanted nothing more than to reach out and see them tonight. She missed their touch, their accents, the way they spoke to her, just being around them. 

Truth was, when she was with them she felt alive, sexy, wanted. When she was with Ted, she felt like she was in a class, having to struggle for the right answers with no reward. 

When Hope cleared her throat and pulled Marissa out of her reverie, she was shocked to find her lunch period had started four minutes ago. 

“You, uh, gonna go?” Hope asked with a grin.

“Yeah, sorry,” Marissa blushed. “You caught me daydreaming. I’m gonna go for a walk- see you in a bit!” She grabbed her things and practically ran for the elevator.

Once she was safely away from the building, she dialed Connor and held her phone up to her ear before she could second guess it. 

“Hullo, Riss,” Connor greeted warmly.

“Connor,” she breathed his name like a prayer, embarrassed at how  _ good _ it felt just to hear his stupid voice. She was pathetic. She was the worst. She was....maybe, kinda, just the slightest bit in love.

Connor waited for a beat for her to continue, but when she remained silent, rooted to the sidewalk, he spoke urgently, “Riss? Are you alright, love?”

“I....” She trailed off, looking around her for a bench or somewhere to sit down. She settled for a small half wall and perched delicately on it. “I don’t even know, Connor.”

He ‘hmmm’d and gave her a second to continue, then said, “You’ve been radio silent for a bit, sweetheart. We worried we had offended you in some way. Murphy wanted to send flowers. Romeo suggested booze.”

Marissa laughed. “I just... I miss you guys.” 

“We haven’t gone anywhere,” his answer felt a bit like a rebuke. 

“I’m sorry,” And fuck but she felt sorry right then. “I can make it up to you both? Make you both dinner tonight.” Marissa talked fast, trying to convince him to agree. “That is unless you already have plans.”

The line muffled for a second, then Connor came back clear. “No, we’re both free and eager to see you.” She smiled at his response. “Tell you what, we’ll bring over dinner and you choose us a scary movie to watch. Murph said you were good at picking the scary ones and we’ll be there to keep you safe from the ghosties.”

At that, she laughed. “That sounds perfect. I’ll see you both tonight, say 7?”

“See you then, Riss.” When the call ended, Marissa felt better than she had in days. How long until she would see them again? She would be counting every hour now.

* * *

As the movie started, Marissa settled back into the couch, a blanket wrapped around her lap and two handsome men surrounding her. The smell of Italian hung in the air and she could still taste the cannoli they’d brought just for her. Connor had turned off the lights as they went into the living room, to set the mood or so he claimed. Murphy held her hand under the blanket, as he had during the movie the time he’d come over solo. Connor wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and breathed him in. 

When he stroked a hand down her head she shivered and burrowed closer to him, loving the feeling. 

“You’re like a kitten, cuddling into me and begging for more pets.” Connor laughed gently as he tugged at a strand of her hair. “My kitten,” he mused.

“Don’t be too selfish, brother. Our kitten,” Murphy chided from his side of the couch, his hand squeezing Marissa’s as he spoke. “I bet she’d purr louder for me.”

“I think I’ve done a pretty admirable job of sharing so far,” Marissa said, wincing mentally and wondering which meaning they would take - that she shared between them, or that she was sharing them with other women. “You two play nice, I’m far too comfortable to have to give up one of you right now.”

“Aye, brother,” Connor smiled at his twin from across the couch, “You heard the lady. She can share and she’s comfortable.”

Marissa’s head swam at their statement, she was ‘their’ kitten? What did that even mean? 

It was obviously a term of endearment, that much was fine. But she wondered after any deeper meaning- and then mentally chastised herself over searching for feelings that they just didn’t have. The ‘their’ couldn’t have implied possession, they had never once given an indication that they wanted things to be exclusive between them all. 

People were getting killed on screen, the movie’s bad guy having made his first appearance. Maybe it would be easier to lose herself in the conflict on screen rather than the mental conflict within. 

It worked for a bit. She lost herself in the struggle of the random teenagers to survive the angry whatever-the-bad-guy-was (her musing had made her miss the backstory.) The door slammed shut on screen locking one woman away from her companions and Marissa jumped with a strangled scream. Yeah, she was into the story now. 

Connor looked over her head at Murphy with a laugh, “You weren't lying, she does get into these movies.”

Marissa buried her head in the blanket to cover her blush, letting loose of Murphy's hand. 

“She'll jump and scream like that the whole time. It's best if you hold her close,” Murphy suggested with a gleam. 

Connor nodded and considered the woman beside him. He scooped her up and settled her in his lap, rearranging the blanket to cover them both. “I've got you, sweetheart. You'll be safe right here.” He gave in to the urge to wrap her up tight in his arms and was rewarded when she relaxed into his embrace, melting against him even as the tension on screen ramped up. 

Connor held her until the horror movie came to it’s final, inevitable, bloody end. Marissa started to get up but Murphy held out a hand to still her movement.

“Wait, I seem to remember you saying that watching a happy movie after a scary one would mean no nightmares.” Murphy took up the remote and searched for something light to clear their film palate.

“Aye, we definitely wouldn’t want you to have nightmares.” Connor grinned as he pulled her closer. “And I’m not ready to give you up to Murphy just yet, he got a whole night with you.”

“Fair enough,” She conceded, settling back against him. Murphy grumbled from his seat but made no move to change their seating arrangement. 

After thirty minutes of some animated show, Marissa was fighting to stay awake and she wasn’t being very covert about it. She was ready for them to move this show back to the bedroom.

Murphy caught her yawning at the credits and switched the screen off. “Look like it’s time for bed,” He commented, standing to help Marissa up. “Come on, then.”

Marissa began to unbutton the shirt she’d been wearing on her walk back to the bedroom, letting it flutter to the floor as she crossed the threshold. Connor came up behind her to help her with her bra clasps as Murphy moved with ease into her closet, still familiar with the layout from the night he’d dressed her. She’d turned in Connor’s arms and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him when Murphy pegged her in the head with a soft t-shirt. 

Connor grabbed it from the air before it hit the ground and shook it out before stepping back to hold it over Marissa’s head. “Um, what’s going on?” Marissa asked even as she raised her arms into the shirt and let Connor tug it over her head. 

“We’re going to bed,” Murphy said, and Marissa could hear the ‘duh’ he’d let hang in the air. “Do you want pajama pants?”

“No?” Marissa replied, still not entirely certain what to expect now. She crossed the room to Murphy, swaying her hips as she moved, and leaned to press a kiss to his lips. “I didn’t expect to be wearing anything by the time we went to sleep.” 

“Mmm,” Murphy hummed as he walked her backward towards her bed. “Maybe Connor has other plans, but I’m pretty tired and just wanted to sleep.”

“Me too,” Connor replied from the other side of the bed. He’d already tugged the blankets down and stripped to just his boxers. “Maybe in the morning, but let’s just sleep now love.”

“Okay,” Marissa replied as she climbed into the bed and let Murphy pull the blankets up to her chin as Connor settled in beside her. He pulled the chain on the overhead light as he stepped out of his jeans and settled into the bed on her other side. 

“G’night, Marissa,” Murphy whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he heard his twin echo the sentiment on the other side. 

* * *

When they left the next morning, they left Marissa with a growing feeling unease. She was two steps from going over the edge and falling so hard for them that she might not survive the fall. While lingering over a breakfast of toast, Marissa realized there was no way she could handle work in her current mental state.

She called out via text and retreated back to her bedroom. Her thoughts were a riot of contradictions all boiling down to one simple fact: She was falling in love with two men who didn’t love her enough to be exclusive. After hours of bemoaning the situation, she could only come up with one thing to do. She needed to either get things really started with Ted so she could forget about Connor and Murphy or she’d have to come clean to them about her feelings and see if they could make things work. 

That idea terrified her, so she settled on trying to woo Ted first, ruling him out as an option. 

Without giving herself long enough to second guess her decision, she quickly grabbed her phone to text Ted.

_ Date night Friday, what do you think? _

His response took ten minutes, time she spent chewing at her thumbnail.

_ Sure! Dinner at Sofi’s? _

Ted named a popular Mexican place close to work.

Sounds perfect!

There. A date on Friday where she could make every attempt to make something work with Ted. One last ditch effort to see if there was hope for a normal relationship. Marissa surrendered to a nap in celebration of her new plan.

* * *

Friday morning, Marissa made an agreement with Hope. She would cover an extra long lunch for Hope and in return, Hope would cover the desk alone so that Marissa could pop off early to get ready for her date with Ted. 

When the time came, she practically ran all the way home. She had a hot date with Ted and she was going to throw her whole self into it. Marissa dug through her closet to the back where she had relegated outfits too bold for her everyday wear- the place where Murphy had found the wrap dress they’d tormented her in. She shook off those memories and pulled out a black bat-winged top, backless and sexy in a way she thought even Ted might appreciate. It even required she forego a bra.

Tight black pants complimented the top, and silver tassels on her ears and hanging from her wrist on a bracelet completed her outfit. Heels completed the outfit and made her ass look great. She swiped enough makeup on to make herself resemble a makeup blogger and declared herself good to go.

Ted had offered to meet at the restaurant, so when her alarm went off to remind her to leave she rushed through her final touches and grabbed her things to leave. 

Marissa was thankful it wasn’t too chilly as she reached the street and turned to head for the restaurant. 

* * *

“Con, look, is that Riss?” Murphy gestured with his cigarette as they rounded the corner heading towards Marissa’s building. 

Connor squinted across the street and agreed. “That’s her, and look at what she’s wearing.” Murphy whistled his appreciation. Without speaking, they agreed to change direction and begin following her up the street.

“Did she say she had plans?” Connor asked as they crossed the street.

“Not that I know of, but we didn’t exactly ask her now did we?” Murphy griped. They walked on, following Marissa as she walked, head high, towards a destination unknown to the men. They noted with growing scowls the number of men taking a second look as Marissa walked passed.

The two walked in silence, finishing and trashing their cigarettes before Marissa finally slowed and checked her phone. She looked up after confirming something on the screen only to wave and smile at some man standing in front of a restaurant.

They watched as she almost ran to him. They watched as she accepted his embrace. They watched as she kissed him.

They turned and walked away.

* * *

Marissa considered the menu in front of her. This was not going to work. Kissing him had been a non-event; his arms around her had been nothing more than a perfunctory hug. She was doomed - and even worse, now she would have to tactfully tell this very nice but very boring man that she was not interested in seeing him again. 

“Hey there, what can I-”

Marissa cut the waiter off with a big smile. “Margarita, on the rocks, salt rim. Please, and thank you!” 

The waiter barely paused. “And for you?” He asked of Ted who ordered a generic beer. 

Ted snacked on a chip and smiled over congenially at Marissa without saying a word. Marissa joined him in eating the chips and salsa because fuck if she wanted to try and hold a conversation now that she had decided they would never suit.

When their drinks came, they each ordered the house fajitas and the waiter left, bringing the silence back to the table. She was practically chugging her margarita, finally feeling bold enough to flag down the waiter for a refill before their main course had come.

Ted for his part nursed his beer and only commented once on how good everything smelled in the restaurant. Marissa nodded and hummed her agreement, focusing on stirring the ice around in her glass. 

“So, uh, how’s your day been?” She offered when their meals had been set in front of them and she had taken a sip of her second drink.

“Fine, actually. Very nice for a Friday.” Ted pulled his tortillas out of the warmer and began crafting the perfect fajita. She waited for him to say more, certain he would at least ask after her day but he seemed to be done with talking for the moment. Marissa shook her head and downed the rest of her drink holding up a hand to signal the waiter for another.

She did manage to eat half of her plate between her second and 3rd margarita, but by the time she had finished that third drink, her courage had floated up to the surface. With the split bill in hand, she was ready to move mountains to be Done. 

“Listen, Ted,” She started. He looked up and met her eyes and she nearly faltered. “I don’t think we’re going to uh work out, you know?” It was a weak finish but by God, she wanted this done with.

Marissa took a breath, ready to provide examples, proof if necessary but Ted stole her thunder with a simple, “I agree.”

“You agree?” She asked with a laugh.

“I’m sorry, but...” Ted trailed off, staring at the table.

“No need to apologize, I’m just kinda thrilled we’re on the same page. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” She laughed again, free and unburdened. “This works out perfectly actually. Do you mind if I just head off then?” Ted didn’t mind and she gathered all her things and practically ran from the restaurant. 

Marissa was footloose, fancy-free, tipsy and ready to fuck two very fine Irishmen.

* * *

“Gentlemen,” Romeo called jovially as the twins entered the bar. He placed their bottle on the bar top followed by three glasses. 

“Just the two of us tonight, Rome,” Murphy said bitterly. 

“Trouble in player-dise?” Romeo joked as he took away one of the glasses. 

“We were going over to Marissa’s, wanted to take her out tonight, but when we got there we saw her leaving all gussied up,” Connor said with a frown as he poured a measure of whiskey. 

“Maybe she had a work thing,” Romeo suggested as he leaned against the back of the bar. 

“Nah,” Murphy picked up the story as Connor sipped at his drink. “We followed her, she was on a date with some bloke.”

Romeo took a step back from them, “Wait, what?” 

“We followed her. We were worried, that top she was wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination and we didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about our- uh- Marissa,” Connor replied. “And when she got where she was going some asshole was there waiting for her. She kissed him, too.”

“And not just a peck on the cheek, either!” Murphy added. “A real fucking kiss.”

“Okay,” Romeo said calmly. “Let me get this straight. You went to Marissa’s house without having made plans, saw she was dressed nicely so you followed her, and now you are mad because you saw her on a date with another guy?” 

“That about sums it up, yeah.”   
“But you two date other women all the time.”

“Not for weeks now,” Connor said. “Just ‘Riss.”

“Alright,” Romeo continued, “But did you ever tell her that?” When he was met with silence he continued on, “Okay so she knew you were dating other women, you stopped dating other women and never told her, and she was just supposed to magically figure that out?” 

“Well, when you put it that way,” Murphy said as he tossed back the alcohol in his glass and poured himself another. 

“You two ain’t got the right to be mad at her,” Romeo pointed out. “Not at least until you’ve told her what you told me.” The bar door opened and a few patrons shuffled in pulling Romeo’s attention away from the twins. They grabbed their bottle and went to a table in the back where they could brood quietly. 

“He’s right you know,” Connor admitted after a few minutes of sullen silence. “We never told her we stopped seeing other people.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know she’d been going out on dates with anyone. And you saw what she was wearing, Connor. You know she only dresses up when we ask her to or if it’s something serious.”

“Do you think,” Connor asked, pausing to sip at his drink. “Do you think this is how she felt whenever one of us would come over so the other could have the apartment?”

Murphy’s face paled as he considered his brother’s statement, “Fuck.” Another moment, heavy with tension, hung in the air. “Fuck. Yes, I bet this is exactly what she felt like. We hafta fix it, brother.”

“Aye, we do. But how?” 

* * *

An hour later and they were no closer to figuring out what to do to fix things with Marissa. Connor’s phone buzzed on the table in front of him. He picked it up and saw it was Marissa before showing the phone to his brother, who shook his head. Rather than answer, Connor pressed the button to keep it from ringing and continued to sip on his whiskey. Moments later Murphy’s phone began to buzz across the table as Marissa tried his phone just in case. 

“I can’t talk to her and not tell her,” Murphy admitted when his phone had stopped making noise. “And I don’t know that I want to tell her after she was out with some other man.”

“Aye,” Connor agreed. “I think it’s best we wait until tomorrow before talking to her, at least.” 

They’d agreed on the plan but it had all gone to shit when Marissa called Connor’s phone again twenty-five minutes later. “Murph, what if she’s in trouble?” 

“Answer it, answer it,” Murphy shooed his hands at his brother’s phone. 

“Riss? You alright?” Connor asked, his heart in his throat. He glanced at the clock on the wall of the bar, “You are home from your date early, you’re right,” he repeated for Murphy’s benefit. “Okay,” Connor sat up straighter, his face serious. “But you’re okay, right?” A moment passed before he added, “We’ll be there soon,” and hung up. 

“She said she needed us, Murph. We can’t not go,” Connor said getting up from the table and bringing the bottle and glasses to the bar. 

“Was she okay?” Murphy asked eagerly as he followed his brother. 

“Tipsy, if anything, but that’s nothing we’ve not dealt with before.”

“Connor, I meant what I said earlier. I can’t see her and not tell her, you know it’ll show all over my face.”

Connor chuckled as he shoved his brother's shoulder, “Never could keep it straight when faced with a pretty girl, wouldn’t expect ya to change now.” They walked another block before Connor added, “Besides, it didn’t sound like that date went very well. She’s home before ten at night and tipsy enough to call and tell me how much she needs us.”

* * *

When Marissa answered the door she had known to expect Connor and Murphy. What she hadn’t expected was the solemn look on their usually cheery faces. She ushered them into her apartment, paused to bring out a stack of three glasses and the bottle of whiskey before joining them in the living room. 

Murphy accepted the glasses gratefully and began to pour measures for each of them. Connor waited until Marissa had sat down and they all had a glass in their hands before he began to speak. “Marissa, lass, you aren’t getting serious with that fellow you went out with, are you?” He took a long pull from his glass before he looked up to meet Marissa’s face. 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Marissa said incredulously. She looked to Murphy, “Do you know what he’s on about?” 

Murphy sighed, “Yes, sweetheart, I do. We need to know if you’re looking to get serious with anyone else.”

Marissa downed the whiskey in her glass quickly, not quite sure if she was more angry or surprised at their questions. “Why do you even care? It’s not like I ask you about the women you two date.”

Connor and Murphy exchanged a glance across the couch they were sitting on. Connor nodded slightly and refilled all of their glasses before leaning back on the couch. 

“We haven’t seen anyone else in weeks, honey,” Murphy stated. “Not since the time I was here alone.”

Marissa thought back over the past few weeks and realized that although she’d been avoiding seeing the twins, neither of them had texted her to see about spending time alone so the other could date. Marissa bowed her head slightly, “Okay, but you have still never asked anything of me other than my time and my body.” It had hurt her to say and she could see that it had hurt for them to hear just as much. 

Connor sat up straight and set his glass down on the table. “Is that all you think this is, love? Just us using you for your body?”

Marissa took a deep breath, steadying herself before she continued on with the last conversation she had expected to be having, especially as tipsy as she was. She was utterly unprepared for it. “Of course I do. You haven’t given me any reason to think it was anything else. We never go anywhere other than Romeo’s or here.” She paused, sipping at her drink to gather herself for her next point. 

“You take turns - took turns, I guess - going on dates with other girls while one of you stayed here and was stuck entertaining me.” She slumped back against her chair, exhausted after expelling some of the emotions she’d been carrying for months. 

“That wasn’t what it was like at all!” Murphy said, and Marissa couldn’t tell if he was angry or just incredibly upset. 

She looked up from her reclined position and quietly spoke. “You never asked anything of me. You never told me you wanted anything more than the sex we’ve been having.”

Connor stood up and crossed the small living room to kneel beside Marissa. He placed a thumb on her chin and forced her to look into his eyes. “We’ve been tryin’ to show you, but I think we’ve been failing. We’re asking you now, Marissa. We shouldn’ta waited so long, but we’re asking you now.”

Marissa blinked away tears and tried as hard as she could to avoid looking Connor in the eye. “You two don’t care about me like that.” Another tear fell down her cheek, but Murphy had come to her other side and he brushed it away. 

“We do care for you, love. That’s why we were asking about that other guy. We wanted to be sure things weren’t getting serious with him before we asked if you’d be ours.”

Marissa took a shuddering breath before looking up and into Murphy’s eyes. “No, nothing was ever serious with him. We ended things tonight.” She let the thought trail off as she ducked her eyes to stare in her lap. 

“Damned fool,” Connor muttered before turning her face and kissing her gently. “Marissa, love, let us show you how much we care about you. Let us prove to you how much we want you in our lives.”

Murphy stood up, reaching out a hand to her. “Come on, Riss, Connor and I have talked about this. We want you. Only you. We’ve been hoping you would have us too.”

Marissa reached out a hand and placed it in Murphy’s. She still wasn’t entirely sure this was really happening, but at this point, she had nothing left to lose. Murphy pulled her into a hug, tenderly wrapping his arms around her and holding her head to his chest while she let out the last of her tears. 

After a moment had passed Murphy released her slightly, leaning back so he could look into her eyes. “Let us take you to bed? And tomorrow we can go out for breakfast somewhere.”

“Our first real date,” Connor smiled as he pulled her backward into his arms. 

Marissa nodded, “Okay. I guess some sleep would be pretty good.” She untangled herself from Connor’s embrace and began to walk towards her bedroom. “I have to say, this is not at all how I anticipated tonight going,” she said as she stumbled slightly, her arm hitting the wall. 

“Perhaps you should drink some water and tell us how you were expecting the night to go? How much did you drink, exactly?” Connor asked, pausing in the kitchen to collect a glass of water before following along to the bedroom. 

“Just enough for some courage to really try and get things started with Ted,” Marissa admitted as she sat heavily on the bed and pulled off the fancy top she was still wearing. “But I knew when he kissed me that nothing could beat the two of you, so then I just drank some more while I figured out how to politely let him down.”

“Uh-huh,” Murphy nodded as he handed over the glass of water from Connor. Taking it from her to refill it as she continued her story. 

“As it turns out, he wanted to end things with me tonight anyway so it was pretty easy. And then I thought, well, fuck it. If I looked this good and I knew I wanted you both, why not get you to come over so we could fuck about it?”

“Fuck about it, hmm? That’s such an eloquent way to phrase things, lass,” Connor smiled. 

“When I decide I want something…” Marissa started but cut herself off with a large yawn. 

“Why don’t we continue this conversation in the morning, eh, love?” Murphy pulled the blankets down before tucking himself into the bed and beckoning Marissa to join him. 

“Yeah, okay,” she smiled as she tucked herself into his chest and felt Connor move in behind her. “I’d like that.”

 


End file.
